A Brooklyn Park man who learned last month that he was duped by Democrat operatives to run as a third-party spoiler candidate in Minnesota’s Second Congressional District race appeared in a video over the weekend with Republican candidate Joe Teirab encouraging conservative voters to “vote for Joe.”
Last month, Thomas Bowman, who is on the ballot for CD2 as the “Constitutional Conservative,” announced he had suspended his campaign and would endorse Republican Teirab over DFL incumbent Angie Craig.
On Saturday, Teirab’s campaign posted to social media a brief video of Bowman and Teirab standing shoulder to shoulder, as Bowman emphasized his remorse that he had been duped earlier this year by Democrat-allied operatives he believes recruited him in an effort to siphon votes away from Teirab in what is sure to be Minnesota’s closest U.S House race this cycle.
Today I stood proudly with Thomas Bowman to set the record straight in #MN02. Thomas was recruited by a dark money Democrat group to split the conservative vote. He has since dropped out and endorsed me, but that didn’t stop Angie Craig’s allies from running tv ads and sending… pic.twitter.com/gesdHMXBat
— Joe Teirab (@JoeTeirab) November 2, 2024
“Hi, I’m Tom Bowman, I was running for Congress in Minnesota [Congressional] District 2 until I discovered that Angie Craig contributors were also my contributors,” Bowman said in the video address. “And that seemed kind of not right to me, like they were trying to split the vote among Republicans. Don’t split it. Vote for Joe.”
Teirab then thanked Bowman and made his final pitch to CD2 voters.
“Thank you so much Tom for your support and endorsement. I was endorsed by Donald Trump, I was active-duty Marine Corps for five years, I would be honored to earn your vote on Nov. 5.”
Bowman’s name remains on ballots for the Second Congressional District race, along with Teirab and Craig. No other candidates appear on the ballot for that race.
Democrat-allied operatives continue to stump for the spoiler candidate
The video statement comes seven weeks after an Associated Press story reported that Bowman was recruited along with a handful of others across the country in swing districts by the “Patriots Run Project” to run independent spoiler campaigns. It also comes on the heels of a Star Tribune report on Friday that Democrat-affiliated groups have been pushing ads to encourage conservative voters across CD2 to cast a ballot for Bowman.
Bowman, 71, of Brooklyn Park, 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.
In a public statement three weeks ago, 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.”
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.
