Tuesday is an important primary election day for Minnesota.
For over a decade I’ve been working at the State Capitol for Constitutional rights and sound public safety policy. On top of monitoring legislative public safety and judiciary committees, I keep a close eye on the Office of the Minnesota Attorney General.
I have grown tired of seeing the A.G.’s office being used as a launching ground for aspiring political careers, and I am sick of seeing the resources of the people of Minnesota used to fight the Democratic Party’s political battles instead of working to keep the people of Minnesota safe.
This election is the greatest opportunity in over half a century to put the Minnesota Attorney General’s Office into a Republican’s hands. We cannot squander this opportunity. We need an outsider. We need someone with integrity. We need someone who can win. We need Jim Schultz.
After a shocking loss in his 2018 A.G. campaign to an easily beatable Keith Ellison, former State Rep. Doug Wardlow has returned with a campaign of lies and misinformation in his fervent quest to regain his status as a politician, like his father before him.
I attended numerous events where Doug Wardlow pledged to abide by the endorsement of Republican Party delegates. I was dismayed when, after losing the endorsement to Jim Schultz, Doug reneged on that promise and stayed in the race.
While I personally have no issue with a candidate choosing to go to a primary instead of seeking endorsement, I find a candidate willing to lie to delegates and go back on their word unconscionable.
Doug’s lack of integrity and transparency does not end there.
In a debate with Keith Ellison in 2018, Doug was asked if he would “ever support universal background checks [on gun transfers]” (a de-facto registry of gun owners). Doug’s reply was: “Yes, yes I would.” While Doug quietly walked back these comments in front of gun owners, he never publicly recanted his support for gun control. In 2022, Doug refused to complete his survey from the Minnesota Gun Owners Caucus and tell gun owners where he stands on key 2nd Amendment rights issues.
Doug’s most prevalent criticism of GOP-endorsed candidate Jim Schultz is that Schultz has “no courtroom experience.” This poor attempt at an attack shows a fundamental lack of understanding about what the attorney general does. The AG does not litigate in courtrooms, nor should they. They should be hiring the best and brightest litigators to work on behalf of the people of Minnesota.
Over the past year, I’ve been impressed with what I have seen from Jim Schultz. While he was not my first choice for A.G., he won me over with his intellect, his vision, and his integrity, and I’m not the only one. Jim has won the endorsement of gun owners, the Republican Party, and rank-and-file police officers.
In this race, Jim has shown that he is not a politician and has set himself apart as a person of integrity. He will not use his office to fight for a political agenda or to further his own political aspirations. Jim’s private sector career has given him the leadership experience that is needed to intelligently manage an office with diverse responsibilities. Most importantly, Jim is the only person in this race who can win.
Please support Jim Schultz in the Republican primary. We simply cannot afford to put this race in the hands of someone who cannot defeat Keith Ellison.
Rob Doar
Rob Doar is senior vice president of government affairs for the Minnesota Gun Owners Caucus.
