Jim Schultz wins GOP primary for Minnesota attorney general
- Torey Van Oot, author of Axios Twin Cities
Jim Schultz and Keith Ellison.
Jim Schultz has won the Republican nomination to challenge Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison in November, AP reports.
The big picture: Schultz, an attorney and political newcomer who was endorsed by the state Republican Party, defeated 2018 GOP attorney general nominee Doug Wardlow, a lawyer for MyPillow founder and conspiracy theorist Mike Lindell, in Tuesday's primary.
State of play: The attorney general contest is expected to be one of the most competitive statewide races in Minnesota this November.
- Ellison, a former congressman from Minneapolis, defeated Wardlow by a 4-point margin in 2018.
Between the lines: Wardlow defied some of the GOP's most prominent officials to compete in the primary after losing the Republican endorsement to Schultz.
- Wardlow, like most GOP candidates seeking the endorsement in Minnesota, had previously vowed to suspend his campaign if he failed to secure delegates' backing.
- But he reversed course days after the endorsing convention and went on to attack Schultz as not conservative enough on abortion and other issues.
What to watch: Public safety and abortion are expected to be major issues in the general election campaign.