In an unprecedented move by the Republican Liberty Caucus of Minnesota (RLCMN), the organization is suspending its legislative endorsement process for the 2016 election cycle, citing “disappointment in state legislators’ performance last year” as well as “an election season dominated by anti-establishment sentiment.” This is the first time this has happened since the organization began endorsing candidates in 2006.
Neil Lynch, Chair of the RLCMN for three years, says in the release, “The battle between the outsiders and the insiders has reached a point where the outsiders are willing to nominate a fascist for President in order to ‘send a message.'” Lynch goes on to discuss Minnesota’s own, stating, “Unfortunately, our state legislators — including many endorsed by our organization — continue to fuel outsider outrage by growing government and big business cronyism, rather than empowering people to be free.”
Several outside organizations have been critical of Minnesota lawmakers’ performance last session as well, including Liberty Minnesota and the Taxpayers League of Minnesota.
Lynch tells Alpha News that they are still committed to helping Republicans get elected, explaining, “The fact is, while we’re not endorsing candidates, we’re still committed to helping good Republicans get elected to office, which is the important thing this election cycle.”
However, that does not mean that the RLCMN will try to “oust” any current Republicans this election year. Lynch explains, “If the RLC felt that an incumbent Republican needed to be replaced, we wouldn’t oust them for the sake of ousting them; we would find a better, electable Republican to challenge them. And that process would have started months ago. Even though this isn’t our plan this election cycle, we might consider this option for 2018.”
Lynch says they are focusing on the following races: Camden Pike in 41B, Aramis Wells in 20B, and Dan Whitcomb for SD15.
The press release concludes with Lynch stating, “We’re sending a message to legislators in St. Paul that actions speak louder than words,” going on to say, “If someone claims to be a friend and defender of liberty, they must show it with their votes.”
