Republicans taking unusual route in race against Sen. Amy Klobuchar
MINNEAPOLIS — There has been so much attention on the developments with the presidential candidates that some local races have not gotten as much attention.
Sen. Amy Klobuchar is running for her fourth term in the U.S. Senate. In Talking Points, Esme Murphy looks at the unusual journey Republicans are taking to find the opponent to run against her.
U.S. Senate races are very expensive. For example, during the last Senate race in Pennsylvania candidates raised and spent more than $300 million. That's why U.S. Senate candidates usually announce a full year and a half before the election. That is not the case with this year's U.S. Senate election in Minnesota.
Klobuchar won her 2012 reelection bid by more than 30 points and she won her 2018 bid by more than 20 points. And that's why Minnesota Republicans have had a tough time finding a candidate to run against her.
This past January, Republican and Navy veteran Joe Fraser announced he would run for Klobuchar's seat. But in a shocker, Fraser, who was considered the favorite, lost the nomination at the May GOP convention to former Gopher and NBA player Royce White.
White has a history of documented legal problems that include owing tens of thousands of dollars in child support and questionable campaign finance expenditures, which includes $1,200 spent at a Miami strip club.
Fraser had said he would honor the convention's nominating process. But after he lost the GOP nomination, he changed his mind and is running against White in the Aug. 13 Republican primary.
White was a guest last month on WCCO Sunday Morning at 10:30 a.m. On Sunday, Fraser was a guest.
"It just became evident that this is not somebody that I view embodies the spirit of the Republican Party," Fraser said. "This is a man who in his own Twitter feed had said that he voted for Joe Biden four years ago and then this last week denied that."
While there is an old saying, "Money isn't everything," in statewide political races it certainly helps. Klobuchar has raised a lot more money than White and Fraser. The senator has raised $18 million for her campaign war chest. White has raised $85,000 and Joe Fraser $62,000. Early voting for the Aug. 13 primary is already underway.
You can watch WCCO Sunday Morning with Esme Murphy and Adam Del Rosso every Sunday at 6 a.m. and 10:30 a.m.