Last week, a campaign finance complaint was filed against Barbara Crow, an official with the Minnesota Democratic-Farmer-Labor (DFL) Party.
Crow, the chair of a local DFL Party unit in St. Louis County, allegedly made a donation of $100 under a false name when registering to attend a Republican Party fundraiser. In turn, Donna Bergstrom, the deputy chair of the Minnesota Republican Party, filed a complaint with the Minnesota Campaign Finance Board (CFB) on Jan. 19.
According to the complaint, Crow used the mail box address of the Cook County DFL and a phone number that belonged to a Wisconsin artist to sign up for the Republican fundraiser. After allegedly donating $100 under the name “Susan Johnson,” Crow reportedly attended the event, checked in with event organizers as Susan Johnson, wore a name tag identifying herself as Susan Johnson, and mingled with Republicans at the event.
Citing Minnesota Statutes Chapter 10A.15 Subd. 2, the Minnesota Republican Party released a statement saying, “it is illegal to make an anonymous contribution over $20, and it is also illegal to donate in the name of another. This statute outlines that individuals in violation may receive a fine of up to $1,000 from the CFB.”
Crow allegedly made the donation on Jan. 4 and attended the event on Jan. 6. The complaint says Crow also used a fake email when she registered for the event.
Referring to Crow’s experience as a DFL Party official, the complaint says Crow “most certainly was aware of this requirement to report her legal name and address with this contribution.”
In a press statement regarding the complaint, Bergstrom said, “We call on the DFL to strip her of her position as St. Louis Co. chair and demonstrate to voters across Minnesota that this behavior is not tolerated by or emblematic of the DFL.”
“[House District] 3B Republicans could not be more disappointed in Crow’s illegal and deceptive leadership,” she added.
The complaint asks the Minnesota Campaign Finance Board to investigate further. Crow did not respond to a request for comment by the time of publication.
Luke Sprinkel
Luke Sprinkel previously worked as a Legislative Assistant at the Minnesota House of Representatives. He grew up as a Missionary Kid (MK) living in England, Thailand, Tanzania, and the Middle East. Luke graduated from Regent University in 2018.
