Across Minnesota, more than 105 district court seats are up for election next week. But just six are contested. And only one has garnered the attention of partisan politicos.
In the 10th Judicial District—which covers eight counties that wrap around the northern portion of the Twins Cities—attorney Nathan Hansen is hoping to unseat one-term incumbent Judge Helen Brosnahan, who was appointed to the bench by DFL Gov. Tim Walz just two years ago, after Judge Tad Jude announced his retirement and intent to run for attorney general.
Although judicial candidates don’t typically seek political party endorsements, Hansen is bucking that trend.
In August, Hansen, 47, a well-known Mahtomedi-based attorney, announced to his supporters he had received recommended status by the Republican Party of Minnesota.
“I think it’s important for voters to know who they’re voting for,” Hansen said, explaining why he sought and received recommended status from the state GOP. “Judicial races don’t get a lot of attention and the party’s recommendation for judges is a useful association for Republican voters to know a candidate is someone whose philosophies and values align with their own.”
More than a half million voters in a heavily Republican district
That partisan support comes for Hansen in a heavily red 10th Judicial District that includes: Anoka, Washington, Pine, Isanti, Chisago, Kanabec, Sherburne and Wright counties. Cumulatively, voters in those eight counties supported Republican gubernatorial candidate Scott Jensen by a 9-point margin over Tim Walz in 2022. In 2020, voters across the district cast votes for Trump by a 10-point margin over Joe Biden. In both of those election cycles, a little more than half of the voters who cast votes for president or governor flipped their ballot over and voted for a district judge seat.
Brosnahan received donations from well-known DFL attorneys
While Hansen has embraced the recommended status he’s received from the state GOP, Brosnahan, a former assistant prosecutor in Dakota and Olmsted counties, has refrained from pointing to any support she has received from those affiliated with partisan politics.
A pre-general election report filed earlier this month showed Brosnahan, of Woodbury, received donations from former DFL U.S. Senate candidate Mike Ciresi and his wife Ann, and from William Sieben, who hails from a family of DFL politicians and once served on the staff for Democratic Vice President Walter Mondale.
Ciresi has an extensive record of donating exclusively to Democrats. Earlier this year he gave a max donation to Supreme Court Justice Karl Procaccini, who is running for a full term after Walz appointed him last year, just months after Procaccini had served as the Democrat governor’s general counsel.
Despite having received donations from prominent DFLers, Brosnahan told Alpha News this week that she has never sought or received endorsements or recommendations by any organizations or candidates affiliated with the DFL Party. Her website does not indicate a party affiliation. She isn’t a newcomer to judicial campaigns, however. In 2010, Brosnahan lost to Tad Jude, garnering just more than 2 percent of the vote in a field of 24 candidates.
The majority of the incumbent judges on the ballot this fall have been appointed by either Gov. Walz or his DFL predecessor Mark Dayton. As governor and a Democratic vice-presidential candidate, Walz has been outspoken about his judicial philosophy. In 2022, Walz promised in a statement on social media that he and Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan would ensure “there’s no anti-choice judges appointed to the state Supreme Court.”
Differing views on accepting political endorsements
Hansen alleges over the course of his campaign he’s received reports from voters that Democrats across the 10th District have been subtly campaigning for Brosnahan, which Brosnahan called a “fabrication” when reached by Alpha News on Tuesday.
Hansen has said that DFL-affiliated organizations have distributed campaign literature with a slate of candidates they recommend to voters that includes Brosnahan. Last month, the Senate District 31 DFL circulated a message on social media encouraging 10th District voters to support Brosnahan and not Hansen.
Brosnahan strongly denied any coordination or communication with DFL-affiliated support she’s received in recent weeks.
“I have not sought nor accepted any partisan political endorsement and would decline any endorsement offered by a political party,” Brosnahan told Alpha News. “I have been nonpartisan and remain nonpartisan and have not accepted any assistance from any political party. I believe the judiciary should not be politicized.”
Experience at a glance
Brosnahan’s career prior to her appointment included stints as an assistant prosecutor in Olmsted and Dakota counties, where in the latter she also served on the Dakota County Attorney’s Office’s Inclusion, Diversity, and Equity Alliance. As a judge she was criticized by a watchdog group for giving a light sentence to an individual who then went on to commit an additional crime.
Hansen is a well-known attorney in Minnesota involved in several high-profile cases. In a case brought by Alpha News and the Star Tribune, he was one of the attorneys who helped unseal Keith Ellison’s past divorce records in 2018.
Hansen’s career experience involves litigation ranging from family law and bankruptcy to criminal and general civil litigation. He’s tried cases at the district and appellate level in both state and federal court, including as local representation in the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals ruling in the 2020 Carson v. Simon case against DFL Secretary of State Steve Simon. Hansen represented appellants who were successful in defeating Simon’s consent decree that attempted to change election laws without the approval of the legislature.
Hansen also represented restaurant owner Larvita McFarquhar in her fight against Gov. Walz’s COVID-19 restrictions.
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.
