Minnesota Republican Scandals | Updated List of GOP Scandals in MN

Minnesota Republican U.S. Congress Member & Candidate Scandals
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Royce WhiteFmr. U.S. Senate Nominee
6/06/24
Spent more than $157,000 in campaign money on personal expenses including $1,200 at a strip club, luxury clothes, cosmetics and multiple "opaque" checks and wire transfers that couldn't be properly accounted forAccording to an exclusive report by The Daily Beast
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7/26/19
Stole an eye-popping 279 items totaling $2,327.97 from a Target store and $40 worth of cat food from a local grocery store mere months apart from each otherAccording to a charging documents filed by local police
7/25/19
Drove under the influence of alcohol, tried to flee when police attempted to pull her over and was arrested for DUIAccording to court records first reported by The Guardian
Minnesota Republican Judge Scandals
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Michelle MacDonaldFmr. Justice Nominee
11/12/14
Rebuffed police commands to exit her vehicle and refused to submit to a breathalyzer and field sobriety test after getting pulled over for speeding and suspicion of driving under the influence and lied about being a "reserve cop" to the arresting officer in an attempt to get out of troubleAccording to charging documents filed by local police
Minnesota Republican State Legislator Scandals
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Justin EichornFmr. State Senator [R-MN]
3/20/25
Solicited sex with who he thought was a 17-year-old girl after exchanging multiple sexually explicit texts with them and was arrested by police when he showed up at their agreed-upon rendezvous point while also being a married father with four childrenAccording to charging documents filed by federal officials
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Amy KochFmr. State Senator [R-MN]
3/15/12
Had an extramarital affair with the MN Senate Republican caucus spokesperson while also being married with a young childAccording to a report by local publications
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Jeff DotsethState Representative
9/18/24
Punched and kicked his family's 14-year-old dog on Christmas in front of his wife and young daughter who was yelling for him to stopAccording to a court affidavit filed by his then-wife
9/16/24
Choked, kicked and physically assaulted his wife on several occasions over a decade until she finally had enough and reported him to the policeAccording to charging documents filed by local officials
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Tara MackFmr. State Representative
9/15/15
Made out with fellow state rep Tim Kelly with her pants down inside a parked car at a local park while being married to a pastor and having two kids and later falsely accused the park ranger who caught them of lying in an attempt to cover it upAccording to a report filed by the park ranger who caught them
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Matt GrossellState Representative
2/17/23
Swerved in and out of his lane at 2:30am while going nearly 20 mph over the speed limit and was found to have a BAC of over twice the legal limit after police pulled him over and then unsuccessfully tried to exploit his personal relationship with the arresting officer to get out of trouble, which is especially egregious as he was a former sheriff's deputy who served on his legislature's "Public Safety" committeeAccording to a police report filed by local officials6/26/19
Shoved and threw a hotel security guard to the ground and was taken to the hospital by police because he was so drunk he couldn't answer basic questions and later was arrested for refusing to leave the hospital after doctors discharged himAccording to charging documents filed by local officials
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Tony CornishFmr. State Representative
11/09/17
Propositioned a lobbyist for sex over numerous text messages -- once asking if she'd be scared if he said he was only interested in "good times good wine good food and good sex" -- over a yearslong period11/09/17
Told a lobbyist to "look down" at his crotch because "I have a giant erection" which she later said he clearly did following a meeting in his officeAccording to allegations made by the lobbyist reported by local media
11/09/17
Sent unsolicited sexualized text messages to fellow state rep Erin Maye Quade to playfully complain that he got reprimanded for gawking at her on the house floor over a number of messages she interpreted as a solicitation for a sexual rendezvousAccording to allegations made by the lawmaker reported by local media
Minnesota Republican City Official Scandals
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David MartinezFmr. City Council Nominee
5/11/19
Posted nude images of his wife on the internet without her consent in retaliation for a restraining order she filed against him for domestic violenceAccording to charging documents filed by local police
7/16/18
According to court records reported by local media7/16/18
Screamed "f*ck you!" to multiple library staff so loudly that he could be heard in the children's area on the other side of the building then refused a police officer's order to leave after staff called them for assistance resulting in him being banned from city libraries for one monthAccording to a police report filed by local officials and reported by local media7/11/18
Thrusted his body into a security guard who ordered him to leave a professional baseball game then had to be subdued by several security guards and police officers before being handcuffed and escorted away resulting in him being banned from the ballpark for one yearAccording to a video of the incident reported by local media