“They made it almost impossible for a Republican to win an election in Minnesota.” A candidate from Trump's party is withdrawing from the race for governor
Chris Madel Photo: Aaron Lavinsky / Zuma Press / Profimedia
Lawyer Chris Madel withdrew from the Republican race for governor of Minnesota on Monday, denouncing what he called a campaign of revenge against the state by federal authorities after officers killed two American citizens during confrontations related to the tightening of immigration laws, reports Reuters, taken by Agerpres.
The decision is a sign of growing tension in President Donald Trump's Republican Party ahead of November's midterm elections over a crackdown on immigration that has led to repeated public clashes and the fatal shootings of Renee Good on Jan. 7 and Alex Pretti on Saturday in Minnesota. Both were 37 years old.
“Republicans' Declared Revenge on Citizens”
“I cannot support, nor do I consider myself a member of a party that would do so, the Republicans at the national level are taking revenge on the citizens of our state,” Madel said in a video posted on X. “Republicans at the national level have made it nearly impossible for a Republican to win a statewide election in Minnesota,” he added.
Trump's announcement after sending the “King of Borders” to Minnesota. Radical change of position on Democratic governor after Alex Pretti's murder
Minnesota Republican House Speaker Lisa Demuth, state Rep. Kristin Robbins and former state Sen. Scott Jensen are among the more than ten candidates remaining in the race in the Aug. 11 primary election to become the party's nominee for governor.
Madel, who successfully defended a Minnesota state trooper in the fatal shooting of a black driver, said the magnitude of the ICE surge in Minneapolis, dubbed Operation Metro Surge, cannot be justified.
Madel said he supports ICE's goals of deporting “the worst of the worst in our state,” but the operation “has expanded far beyond its stated focus on real threats to public safety.”
The incumbent governor is no longer running
According to the Minnesota Star Tribune, Madel consistently finished in the top three in preliminary polls of party activists for the primary election. The final Republican candidate will likely face Democratic US Senator Amy Klobuchar, who entered the race last week and is considered the favorite by non-partisan analysts.
White House blames “Democratic leaders” for Minnesota tragedy
Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz this month dropped a bid for re-election amid a welfare fraud scandal. Republicans last won the state's governorship in 2006.
Trump has been a fierce critic of Walz, the Democratic 2024 vice presidential nominee, but on Monday said he was “on a similar wavelength” to the Minnesota governor, who has called for ICE to withdraw from his state.
The current Republican majority in Congress is also up for grabs in November, with the US House of Representatives open to either outcome, while Republicans are seen as having a better chance of holding onto their lead in the Senate.
