Minnesota hasn’t elected a Republican attorney general in over 40 years. Keith Ellison — the prominent Democratic congressman and No. 2 at the Democratic National Committee — is putting that streak to the test.

Rocked by accusations of domestic abuse, Ellison has fallen behind former Minnesota Republican state legislator Doug Wardlow, according to a poll this week. And while each candidate has tagged the other as too far outside the mainstream to be the state's top law enforcement official, in reality the race revolves around Ellison and what voters make of the misconduct allegations he’s facing.


The outcome could have consequences far outside the state as attorneys general across the country have taken a critical role in fighting many of President Donald Trump’s policies in court. Democratic attorneys general sued to stop Trump’s travel ban from several Muslim majority countries as well as his family separation policy for undocumented immigrants.

Ellison said he would join the chorus of Democratic attorneys general in challenging policies he views to be unconstitutional, whereas Wardlow has advocated for Trump and disagrees the AG's office should be used to influence policy decisions.

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By most accounts, this race should be a gimme for Ellison, who gained national attention as the first Muslim member of Congress and had a good shot at becoming DNC chairman during the 2017 election before he was appointed the party's deputy chair. Wardlow, by contrast, is a soft-spoken pro-Trump Republican in a blue state whom most Minnesotans have never heard of.

But allegations of physical and emotional abuse levied by Ellison’s ex-girlfriend over the summer turned the race into a fight. A MPR News/Star Tribune Minnesota poll conducted between Oct. 15 and 17 showed Ellison trailing by 7 points, though 56 percent of respondents didn't know who Wardlow was. Those results reflected a sharp turn from September, when a poll by the same news outlets had Ellison ahead by 5 points.


Those numbers suggest that the election has become a "referendum on Keith Ellison," said Minnesota Republican strategist Ben Golnik, who is not involved in the race.

Karen Monahan, Ellison’s ex-girlfriend, accused the congressman of physical and emotional abuse just days before the state’s primary in August. Ellison has vehemently denied the allegations, and the state’s Democratic-Farmer Labor Party hired a law firm to conduct an investigation, which found the allegations unsubstantiated.

But Monahan has continued to speak out about the alleged abuse, and Republicans have targeted Democratic candidates across the state for associating with Ellison.

Wardlow’s campaign manager, Billy Grant, said it was hypocritical for Minnesota Democrats to portray themselves as defenders of sexual assault survivors if they don’t denounce Ellison. Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) played a central role questioning Supreme Court Justice Kavanaugh during his tumultuous confirmation hearing, and Minnesota Democrats were quick to remove then-Sen. Al Franken (D-Minn.) after allegations surfaced that he groped women when he was a comedian.


“They refuse to rescind endorsements. They’re still campaigning with him,” Grant said. “But then with the Kavanaugh hearings, it’s the complete opposite. So I think people just see the glaring hypocrisy in that, and that it’s really all about power for them.”

Monahan has worked for Democratic causes most of her adult life, and her lawyer, Andrew Parker, said she is not invested in the attorney general race.

DFL senior adviser Charlene Briner wrote in an email: “The DFL initiated the investigation into the allegations voluntarily because we believe all claims of physical or sexual abuse or assault warrant a complete and thorough investigation.”

Ellison isn't the only one with questions about alleged misdeeds from his past.

Wardlow has accepted money from donors who ran a for-profit university that was successfully sued for fraud; he said Wednesday he would return the donation. The Republican hopeful also worked with the Christian nonprofit Alliance Defending Freedom, which has been labeled by the Southern Poverty Law Center as an anti-LGBT hate group.

Both candidates have accused each other of being too radical for Minnesota. During a debate this week, which Grant called “one of the most bare-knuckle tough debates ever on Minnesota television,” Wardlow characterized Ellison as a radical Washington leftist who would challenge in court any policy he opposes. Ellison shot back that Wardlow wanted to purge the attorney general office of Democrats and "implement Trump's agenda.”

During the debate, Wardlow deflected on policy questions, saying the attorney general should be nonpartisan and that he would not be beholden to any political party. But the state Legislature does often consult the attorney general’s office for opinions, and Wardlow demonstrated a record of conservative views during his time in the Legislature. He has spoken out against the Affordable Care Act and supported right-to-work legislation that critics say would undermine unions.

Democratic operative Sarah Walker was skeptical Wardlow could ever be as neutral as he says. Wardlow was caught saying at a fundraiser Oct. 8 that he would "fire 42 Democratic attorneys right off the bat" and add Republicans to the office. Wardlow said his words were taken out of context and that he wouldn’t use political parties as a “litmus test”, but Democrats were far from convinced.


“He was in the Legislature for two years and he was one of the most partisan legislators,” Walker said. “It’s impossible for me to believe that he is not going to come in with a very clear agenda.”

Longtime Minnesota Democratic strategist Jeff Blodgett said were it not for the abuse allegations, the race wouldn’t even be close. But Blodgett said discussion about the race has shifted more toward the unsavory parts of Wardlow's past in the last week, meaning Ellison could come back on top.

"Keith has been struggling with the charge by Karen Monahan, and that's been dominating the narrative in the race," Blodgett said. "When that happens that's a pretty difficult situation to be in."

Though Minnesota is solid Democratic terrain, Republicans have had some cause for optimism there. Trump only narrowly lost the state in 2016, and Republicans have high hopes for flipping two Democratic-controlled House seats in the midterms.

Melody Hoffman, a feminist activist who has supported Ellison in the past, said the allegations have given her pause. Hoffman said she probably would have volunteered for Ellison this election, as she has for the DFL regularly in the past, but is sitting out this race. She said she is torn between voting for someone she believes caused another woman emotional harm and voting for a candidate who has openly support policies that she believes are detrimental to women.

“If I know that somebody is an abuser of any kind, or a racist or a homophobe, whatever, I don’t vote for them,” Hoffman said. “That’s just a core value of mine.”

