A DFL candidate running for a seat in the Minnesota House of Representatives is under fire after reportedly publishing social media posts in which he bragged about his wealth and referred to one person as a “peasant” and “poor and dumb.”
Aaron Schweiger, the DFL nominee for House District 3B, is the subject of a new attack ad from Renew Minnesota, a conservative political action committee (PAC). In that ad, Renew Minnesota displays a series of social media comments reportedly made by Schweiger.
In one post shown in the ad, a Facebook account with Schweiger’s name brags about his wealth, telling one person “I’m worth $50 million + and you’re not.” Another post from the same account refers to another user as a “Peasant” and “poor and dumb.”
How unhinged is Aaron Schweiger?
He brags about his million dollar loans and exotic cars while mocking Northlanders for being poor.
He calls voters "ignorant" for being concerned about fraud.
He even calls women "batshit crazy" while making jokes about female voters… pic.twitter.com/Gmul47XV1V
— Renew Minnesota (@RenewMN) October 11, 2026
Additionally, a post from an account with Schweiger’s name describes another person as “ignorant” for believing that billions of dollars were stolen in fraud. That post appears to be a reference to the $9 billion of welfare funds that was estimated stolen in Minnesota.
Renew Minnesota has said Schweiger made the fraud-related post on Feb. 17 of this year. The posts allegedly made by Schweiger and used in the ad do not have timestamps.
In addition to Renew Minnesota’s attack ad, a Facebook page for the Republican Party in House District 3B has repeatedly criticized Schweiger for the posts and said Schweiger has since deleted some of the comments referenced by Renew Minnesota.
One of the social media posts from the Republican Party in House District 3B said, “Aaron Schweiger repeatedly shows his true colors as a snobby, thin-skinned one-percenter who looks down on the very voters he wants to represent.”
Facebook posts from the Republican Party in House District 3B said the “poor and dumb” comment and the fraud-related comment were made on a Hermantown Facebook page. Hermantown is a city in House District 3B.
Alpha New contacted Schweiger’s campaign to ask about the posts. He was asked when he made the posts and if he believes the comments are inappropriate for someone seeking elected office. He did not respond to a media inquiry prior to a publication deadline.
The race for House District 3B pits Schweiger against Republican incumbent Rep. Natalie Zeleznikar. The district is in northeast Minnesota and includes Hermantown, Two Harbors, Rice Lake, Proctor, a small part of Duluth, and several other nearby communities.
The race between Zeleznikar and Schweiger is primed to be one of the closest legislative contests in Minnesota and could decide whether Republicans or Democrats win the House majority. Currently, the House is split with 67 Republicans and 67 Democrats.
Zeleznikar was first elected to the state House in 2022 when she ousted DFL incumbent Rep. Mary Murphy by just 33 votes. In 2024, Zeleznikar won reelection by just 159 votes against DFL candidate Mark Munger, a former district court judge.
A former nursing home administrator, Zeleznikar is running on a platform to lower property taxes, reduce car tab fees, lower income taxes on small businesses, enforce mandatory minimum sentencing for violent criminals, and “restore local control and flexibility to school districts.”
Meanwhile, Schweiger says he wants to increase housing options, address the cost of living crisis, provide “a strong public education,” and “hold healthcare insurance companies and providers accountable to their duty to provide adequate care.”
Schweiger is a real estate developer with Zenith Property Management which is based in Duluth. The company was originally founded in 1914 by Schweiger’s great-grandfather.
A Duluth native, Schweiger first ran for a seat in the state House back in 2004 when he was a college student at the University of Minnesota and lived in Edina. That legislative seat covered parts of Edina and Bloomington and was heavily Republican at the time.
According to a Duluth News Tribune article from August of 2004, Schweiger volunteered to run as the DFL candidate for the metro-area seat after no other Democrat stepped forward to run. He initially felt he had no chance at winning, telling the newspaper, “I felt like a lamb being led to slaughter at first.”
However, the six-term Republican incumbent in that seat, Rep. Alice Seagren, was appointed to be the commissioner of the Minnesota Department of Education by Republican Gov. Tim Pawlenty in July of that year.
“Suddenly, the race was wide open,” Schweiger told the Duluth News Tribune.
Instead of facing Seagren in the general election, Schweiger ended up facing Republican Neil Peterson. After Seagren’s departure from the race but before Peterson’s selection, Schweiger told the Duluth News Tribune he was optimistic about his chances.
“I didn’t sign up to lose,” he told the newspaper.
However, Schweiger ended up losing to Peterson by approximately 21 points.
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.
