A Brooklyn Park man, who last month told Alpha News that he was recruited by a national group to run as a “Constitutional Conservative” in Minnesota’s Second Congressional District race, has announced he has suspended his campaign and will endorse Republican Joe Teirab over DFL incumbent Angie Craig.
Thomas William Bowman, 71, filed his affidavit of candidacy with the Minnesota secretary of state to run for the CD2 seat on June 4, the last day a candidate can file for U.S. House in Minnesota. Over the next 10 days, Bowman—who has no history of seeking elected office—received six max donations ($3,300) from out-of-state donors. State law requires all minor party and independent candidates for Congress to submit a nominating petition that includes 1,000 signatures of eligible Minnesota voters supporting the candidate’s request to be placed on the ballot.
In an email exchange with Alpha News in September, Bowman confirmed that he was recruited via social media to run for the CD2 seat by a mostly unknown organization, Patriots Run Project.
Bowman indicated that those who recruited him also helped him obtain the petition signatures required by the state to get his name on the ballot. An Associated Press story reported last month that the Patriots Run Project had recruited a handful of other fly-by-night candidates in other states to run independent spoiler campaigns in swing district U.S. House races.
In a public statement on Thursday, Bowman said after coming to a full understanding of the details surrounding the Patriots Run Project, he believes he was used as a “pawn” by those trying to aid Craig’s re-election chances
“Joe Teirab is the political outsider that we really need in Congress, and I’m proud to endorse him for Minnesota’s Second Congressional District,” Bowman said. “I see now that I was tricked into running by Democrats looking to protect Angie Craig, and I don’t want to be a pawn in their game.”
“I am unhappy about this clear election interference. I was defrauded, and contributors to Angie Craig were behind it. I call on Angie Craig to demand answers from those contributors and return their money.”
Bowman’s name will remain on ballots for the Second Congressional District race, along with Teirab and Craig. No other candidates will appear on the ballot for that race.
Last month, after learning of the Patriots Run Project’s recruitment of Bowman, Teirab called the act “blatant election interference” orchestrated by political allies of Craig.
A spokesperson for Craig told Alpha News the campaign first heard of Bowman’s candidacy when he filed with the FEC in April. “The campaign has no knowledge of how he got on the ballot,” the spokesperson said.
History of third-party candidates dying or dropping out in MNCD2
It’s not the first time a third-party candidate has essentially dropped out of the MN-CD2 race just weeks before Election Day, only to have their name remain on the general election ballot.
In 2022, perennial third-party candidate Paula Overby appeared on the MN-CD2 ballot, along with Craig and Republican challenger Tyler Kistner, even after Overby died unexpectedly just one month before Election Day.
In September 2020, MN-CD2 third-party candidate Adam Weeks died just 40 days before Election Day in his race against Craig and Kistner. After Weeks’ death, Secretary of State Steve Simon announced his office would move to postpone the MN-CD2 election until February in compliance with a state statute of candidate deaths within 79 days of an election. But a federal judge ruled in October that the Nov. 2 election for the U.S. House seat must continue, overruling the state law.
Hank Long
Hank Long is a journalism and communications professional whose writing career includes coverage of the Minnesota legislature, city and county governments and the commercial real estate industry. Hank received his undergraduate degree at the University of Minnesota, where he studied journalism, and his law degree at the University of St. Thomas. The Minnesota native lives in the Twin Cities with his wife and four children. His dream is to be around when the Vikings win the Super Bowl.
