Kare11
Republican US Senate primary offers contrasting styles
A statewide race pits the Republican-endorsed candidate against a political newcomer.
MINNEAPOLIS — Seven Republicans have lined up for a chance to take on U.S. Senator Amy Klobuchar in November, but two have raised the most money and fared best in polls.
They are Royce White, a conservative charismatic populist endorsed by the state party, and Joe Fraser, a business executive and Navy veteran. Both are confident they can be the first Republican to win a statewide race in Minnesota since 2006.
At a candidate forum sponsored by Alpha News, White said his top campaign issues are securing the border, dealing with federal debt and avoiding entanglement in “forever wars” on foreign soil.
White, who calls Trump advisor Steve Bannon a mentor and friend, warns against a “technocracy” and a “corporate-ocracy” in his speeches and his “Please, Call Me Crazy” podcast. His campaign ads warn of a vast conspiracy to turn Americans into serfs or slaves as part of a global economy.
“Big Tech, Big Pharma, Big Finance all conspire with the federal government to suppress and omit certain information when they see fit,” White tells viewers in the ad.
“We are not slaves. We are not serfs. Our children are not sexual experiments. We cannot submit to being guinea pigs for mad scientists.”
The term “mad scientists” in the ad is accompanied by an image of Dr. Anthony Fauci, the physician and epidemiologist who led the U.S. response to the COVID pandemic.
White first came to prominence as a high school athlete. He was named Minnesota’s Mr. Basketball in 2009 during his senior year at Hopkins High School. He signed with the Minnesota Golden Gophers but was suspended during his freshman year after being hit with a misdemeanor shoplifting charge.
He left the program and two years later became a star power forward for the Iowa State Cyclones. The Houston Rockets drafted White in the first round in 2012, but his NBA career was cut short because the league couldn’t make enough accommodations for his anxiety issues, which at times included a fear of flying.
White used the situation to call attention to the lack of policies in the NBA for dealing with mental health among players. He appeared on Dr. Phil’s daytime show in 2013 to explain the anxiety he’d been struggling with since his teenage years, and his battle to play professional basketball.
“Mental health needs to be addressed in the NBA,” White told the studio audience and those watching TV across the the nation.
“Mental health is talked about in hushed tones in America.”
White played in only three regular season games under a short contract with the Sacramento Kings, but still plays in a professional three-on-three league. In a 2018 interview with KARE 11, White said he would consider donating his salary if he could get back into the NBA.
“It’s obvious the NBA’s attitude has not changed much because there still isn’t a policy.”
White returned to the spotlight in 2020 when he led Black solidarity marches in the weeks and months after George Floyd was murdered. He also organized exhibition basketball tournaments in hopes of bringing communities together.
He told KARE 11 that athletes can play an important role in community movements.
“Athletes are perfectly conditioned to lead their communities. We understand the importance of competition. We understand the importance of self-sacrifice.”
He attracted the attention of Steve Bannon, who was intrigued by the fact White’s marches after George Floyd made stops at the Minneapolis Federal Reserve bank.
Two years later, White ran as a Republican for Congress in Minnesota’s 5th District. He lost that race but continued to speak out against perceived threats to individual liberty from the government and global corporations.
On the Fourth of July, White rallied with two dozen supporters outside the Federal Reserve Bank. He said the Federal Reserve system is what enables the U.S. to fight in overseas wars.
“Because when we have to go fight a war and spend money we don’t have, they have to print it somewhere, and that’s where they print it, right down here.”
He also took a shot at his primary opponent Joe Fraser, for using gender pronouns on his LinkedIn profile.
“We all can see you. You’re a middle-aged man! We know what men are. We know what women are. We don’t need to announce it to the world!”
White received a warm welcome from audience members at Former President Donald Trump’s rally in St. Cloud July 27. When he posted a selfie from the event to social media, one of the comments was that all the Trump supporters posing with him are racists.
He responded to that on this “Please, Call Me Crazy” podcast.
“Those people in the arena Saturday up in St. Cloud at the Trump rally aren’t racist,” White told the audience.
“They just want to have a country. They just don’t want to have their country be run by liberals and communists, who say that a man can become a woman on any given day they choose.”
His main challenger in Tuesday’s Republican primary is Joe Fraser, a California native who spent 26 years in the Navy before a embarking on a career in banking.
Fraser said he originally hesitated to run against the state party’s endorsed candidate, but now believes voters will view it as proof that he can be an independent thinker.
“I can stand up for what I believe in, stand on my principals, stand up against the party bosses and say, ‘I disagree with you’,” Fraser told KARE.
Republicans haven’t won a statewide race in Minnesota since 2006, but Fraser asserts conditions are ripe for an upset of Amy Klobuchar due in large part to the economy of the past three years.
“People care about what’s coming out of their wallet these days and how expensive it is to buy groceries, and pay for electricity, and rent. You can’t even buy, because of interest rates and inflation.”
While some Republicans are divided over foreign wars and Ukraine specifically, Fraser asserts the U.S. has an obligation to support that nation in it’s struggle with Russia.
“They’re fighting a bully, and we need to help them fight a bully if we stand up for liberty and justice for all,” Fraser remarked.
“We’re not being the world’s policeman. We’re being a good friend. And we understand that if the bully wins here, the bully will start to go other places.”
He said the U.S. should also continue to support Israel militarily because Iran has unlimited resources to fund proxy wars against Israel, funding terrorist groups such as Hamas in Gaza and Hezbollah on the Lebanese border.
Fraser said he believes he stands a better chance against Klobuchar in November than White does. Among his endorsements are former Governor Tim Pawlenty, and former U.S. Senators Norm Coleman and Rudy Boschwitz.
“I wanted to spend the summer talking about Amy, but instead we’re talking about the un-electability of Royce White.”
The polls are open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Tuesday. To find your polling place, consult the Minnesota Secretary of State’s poll finder web page.
Gary Peterson and his friends are collecting donations to help people in their community.
ST. LOUIS PARK, Minn. — A St. Louis Park pumpkin display is raising money for their local food shelf.
Gary Peterson started carving and painting three pumpkins over a decade ago. It’s now grown to over 100.
“I’ve heard people say they’ve come from Hutchinson,” he said.
Peterson along with two of his neighbors have spent the last 14 years growing their display, turning it into a neighborhood event.
“It’s been incredible, I just can’t believe how much this has expanded,” he said. “We did it just because we like to and then people were asking to give us money to cover the cost.”
The trio refused to take people’s money, but then one of them had an idea.
“My neighbor, Steve Leensvaart, just mentioned how about we just do it for the STEP program and the STEP program is our local food shelf in St. Louis Park,” he said.
So, they started to collect donations to help families in need. They’ve raised hundreds of dollars and donated hundreds of pounds of food over the last few years, carving for a cause.
“It is more gratifying every year,” Peterson said.
He estimated they have over 100 unique pumpkins in their yard. They’ve created the displays and come up with new family-friendly concepts for people to enjoy. Peterson said about 30 of their neighbors carved their own pumpkins to be put on display, and it’s been a big hit.
“It’s great. In the last couple of years, it’s turned into more of a neighborhood event,” said Sarah Durch.
“We love this Halloween display, we come every year to see it. We love that the whole community gets involved to craft and carve the pumpkins,” said Jami Gordon-Smith.
“The shading and the details are unbelievable,” said Elizabeth Hanson.
Hanson hopes to take her 2-year-old son trick or treating for the first time but is worried the cold temperatures might keep them indoors.
“We’re going trick or treating hopefully,” she said. “He’s going to be a firefighter, but we’re probably going to have sweatshirts maybe like two pairs of sweatpants underneath. We’re going to be bundled up.”
Gordon-Smith said her family will be out Halloween night no matter the weather.
“Halloween only comes once a year, so you really have to take advantage and enjoy the evening no matter what the weather brings,” she said. “Guess it’s not totally unheard of in Minnesota to have a cold Halloween, but we are going to try and modify and do a lot of layers underneath our costumes and then we might add some hats and maybe some warmer socks.”
Durch also isn’t surprised they’re in for another chilly night.
“Well, what would Halloween be without Minnesota cold? I feel like every time you plan a costume you have to plan for how you can make this work if it’s snowing,” she said.
Peterson said they will have a bonfire and some hot chocolate and cider on Halloween to keep trick-or-treaters warm while they look at their pumpkins.
Click here to learn where you can see the pumpkins and how you can donate.
Jeremy Jourdain was 17 when he was last seen on Halloween 2016.
BEMIDJI, Minn. — The search for Jeremy Jourdain, who was last seen on Halloween in 2016, continues now eight years later.
Jourdain was last seen at a family member’s house in Bemidji, according to the U.S. Department of the Interior Indian Affairs. He left the residence near the 500 block of Wood Avenue after midnight and while people followed him, no one was able to find him.
Jourdain was 17 at the time.
Officials said he was wearing a blue and grey sweatshirt, and blue jeans when last seen. He is Native American and is described as 6 foot 5 and 175 pounds.
If you have any information on his whereabouts, you can contact the Bemidji Police Department at (218) 333-9111. Tips can also be sent to 1-833-560-2065, or you can email ojs_mmu@bia.gov.
The organizations say many Asian Americans are planning to vote despite lack of candidate outreach.
ST PAUL, Minn. — Most people have been contacted in some way shape or form by a campaign in the last few weeks. And if the polls are right and the race for president is a dead heat, every vote will matter.
That’s why this is a head scratcher:
According to a September 2024 voter survey by Asian American Pacific Islander Data, 27% of Asian-American voters said they hadn’t been contacted by either political party trying to get their vote. Last spring, earlier in the voting season, it was even more – 42%.
Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders are the fastest growing racial or ethnic group nationwide.
Their voter participation levels are growing too, with 60% of eligible Asian-American voters turning out in 2020. And AAPI Data reports as many as 90% of Asian Americans they surveyed said they plan to vote this cycle.
“Candidates are not reaching out to Asian Americans, which is a huge mistake,” said ThaoMee Xiong, executive and networking director of the Coalition of Asian American Leaders.
She says even though there are more than 200,000 eligible Asian voters in Minnesota, the Asian vote is under-appreciated.
“Neither the Democratic or Republican parties have been reaching out in huge numbers,” Xiong said. “They’re sending general mailers to everyone but … they need it in their native language.”
That’s why CAAL is partnering with two more organizations to keep voter turnout high and reach anyone candidates or advocates missed.
Xor Xiong is from Asian American Organizing Project, which focuses on engaging metro-area teens and young adults.
“Many of our communities are still facing barriers to go to vote,” he said. “There’s been more times than I like to admit in terms of when I was having a conversation over the phones of voters being surprised that they can take time off to go and vote, or they can bring the kids to the polling locations, or they can even bring someone to translate for them.”
“In Ramsey County, because of the large Hmong American population there, the polls in Ramsey County are federally required to provide interpreters and translated materials,” ThaoMee added.
Their nonpartisan campaign, Get Out the Vote for Asian Minnesotans, aims to get people registered and well-informed.
“Throughout Covid, there was a lot of anti-hate around the AAPI community and we are still feeling the impact of that to this day,” said Amanda Xiong, a community organizer with a group known as CAPI USA. “Even if folks are afraid to go to the polls, due to that, we try our best to then educate them around absentee ballots, voting early.”
“And so yes, there is a huge increase in terms of voter turnout, but then why is it still 70% feel as though they don’t belong?”
In 2021, the FBI reported a 168% increase in anti-Asian hate crimes.
In Brooklyn Park and Brooklyn Center, the groups knocked on at least 700 doors in one session alone while keeping safety top of mind.
“We make sure that there’s a car following all the door knockers,” ThaoMee said. “We put everyone on text chain … and we are putting a lot of precautionary measures in place for the day of voting.”
After the election, the CAAL plans to conduct surveys and send the results to county election officials. They’ve done this before and say it led to policy changes this year at the legislature including measures to ensure people have easier access to interpreters.
