Minnesota Democrats are apologizing to Republican gubernatorial candidate Jeff Johnson after a teenage volunteer ended up inside the home of his running mate over the weekend.

In a Facebook message also posted on Twitter, Johnson said he was disturbed to learn Republican lieutenant governor candidate Donna Bergstrom returned home to find a young DFLer in her home talking to her husband and 13-year-old son. Johnson described the person as a “tracker” — a name given to campaign workers who follow candidates around recording them hoping to catch gaffes.

Johnson added that the teenager had asked to use the Bergstrom’s phone to call for a ride because his cellphone had died.

“It’s ridiculous enough that candidates and their families are being chased out of restaurants and harassed in public by the left,” Johnson’s post said. “To actually enter someone’s home under false pretenses is a new low.”

Johnson added that if anything similar happens again he would call the police.

In a statement, DFL Party Chair Ken Martin described the individual as “as an overzealous teenage student intern who has volunteered for several campaigns.” He said the person was not a DFL employee or working as a tracker.

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New Brighton Mayor Valerie Johnson suspends bid for re-election “As I stated when this was brought to my attention, no DFL employees are ever encouraged to act in this way, and receive training on how to be respectful in carrying out their job,” Martin said in a statement that noted he called Johnson to apologize.

“And no candidate for public office should have to worry about this kind of unacceptable intrusion in the privacy of their own home,” Martin’s statement said.

Martin also urged “compassion” saying that “children often make mistakes” and adults should “make our expectations about right and wrong clear to them, so that they can learn, grow and move forward.”

Johnson, a Republican, faces Democratic congressman Tim Walz in the race to be Minnesota’s next governor.