On Tuesday the Republican Party took part in several local and congressional primaries, with all of the Party-endorsed candidates taking the win, including Jason Lewis, Calvin Bahr, Minnesota House Speaker Kurt Daudt and US Representative Tom Emmer.
The Party endorsement wasn’t always as strong, Keith Downey, Chairman of the Republican Party of Minnesota, who took on his role when the endorsement was questionable due to the Party going millions in debt, says last night’s results show the Republican endorsement is once again a powerful thing for candidates to have on their side, stating, “The endorsement, I think, has always meant a lot, but as compared to three years or so ago where people were really questioning it and whether there was really any value, any ability that the party or local districts had to help you as a candidate, they questioned that. And I hope after last night people will question that less.”
One of the most notable primary wins by a Party-endorsed candidate was Republican Jason Lewis. Lewis took down three contenders to be the candidate on the ticket to take on Democrat Angie Craig in November. The seat is open due to Congressman John Kline retiring.
Lewis says he plans to topple Craig by convincing voters of her “far left agenda” saying, “Angie Craig was sort of the Bernie Sanders candidate of the Democrat Party, there was a more moderate Democrat in. They cleared the way for a hard-core left-wing candidate, and that is not where the voters of the Second District are, and we’re going to point that out.”
Chairman Downey says the race between Lewis and Craig is of vital importance not only for Minnesotans, but for Americans as well, explaining, “It’s an open seat and it is arguably one of maybe a couple dozen true swing districts in the country, so it’s going to be a tough, hard-fought battle.”
Now that all of the Republican candidates have been chosen, Downey says they are focused on getting voters to see how the Republican platform can benefit the state and country.
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