Minnetrista Republican Joe Frazier has never run for political office, but the former naval intelligence officer and business executive is fighting to unseat popular incumbent Sen. Amy Klobuchar, who is seeking a fourth term. There is.
This is Klobuchar’s first run for president since her failed 2020 presidential bid, and Fraser is confident that the Republican Party will be able to tackle issues where Klobuchar is weak, including the economy, the U.S.-Mexico border, and the war in Gaza. I think there is a possibility that it could be used.
“When you look around the world in crisis, you really see a lack of leadership in the House of Representatives and in the Senate,” Fraser said in a recent interview. “I am determined to use my experience to bring Minnesota to the floor as a voice for the state of Minnesota.”
He was also critical of what he sees as a lack of support for mining in northern Minnesota, saying she is not a vocal defender of Minnesota jobs. Klobuchar’s campaign notes that she has the support of the steelworkers union and that she is a “strong advocate for trade enforcement to stop Chinese steel dumping.”
Frazier plans to appeal to suburban voters, particularly in Hennepin County, and sees a path to winning over voters in the swing 2nd District and the open 3rd District.
The Republican Party will hold its state convention starting Thursday, with former President Donald Trump expected to attend, and the bill is expected to gain support in the Senate on Saturday. Fraser is one of four candidates seeking the party’s support. The remaining three are former basketball players Royce White, Gary Cosson, and Patrick Munroe, who ran unsuccessfully in the Republican primary for Rep. Ilhan Omar’s seat in the U.S. House of Representatives. None of the three have raised any money, leaving Mr Fraser in a better position to gain party support.
But Republicans haven’t won a statewide election since the early 2000s. Klobuchar has held the seat blue since 2000, when former Sen. Mark Dayton defeated former Republican Sen. Rod Grams to flip the seat. And she defeated her previous Republican rivals in 2012 and 2018, winning more than 60% of the vote.
Based on the latest FEC, Republican and independent political observers alike say it will be extremely difficult for Frazier and other Republicans to run against Klobuchar. Klobuchar raised nearly $2.2 million in her most recent fundraising quarter and had $5.8 million in cash through April, according to her latest FEC. filing.
Frazier has raised just $45,000 since entering the race in late January and entered April with just $43,900 in cash to take on Klobuchar.
“I’m not independently wealthy,” Fraser said. “And I think that’s important because it’s a more grassroots approach.”
Additionally, statewide ads to get their names in front of voters are not being aired.
“If there is that [lack] “A large amount of funding to a sitting U.S. senator is a really, really big hole, and it’s not an amount that would allow anyone to argue that this is a winnable campaign,” said former Vice Chairman Michael Brodkolb. Ta. The state Republican Party had this to say about Fraser’s fundraising efforts:
The nonpartisan Cook Political Report ranks Minnesota solidly Democratic this term. Both parties have their sights set on Senate races in battleground states such as Arizona, Nevada, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin and Michigan.
“It’s very difficult for an unknown challenger who has never held elected office to raise money against a popular incumbent,” said Kathryn Pearson, a political science professor at the University of Minnesota. “Republicans across the country are going to give to Republican Senate candidates who have a better chance of winning in elections that are rated as really competitive. And this is not one of them.”
Frazier has the backing of the National Republican Senatorial Committee and said he expects four Minnesota Republicans to back his campaign after the convention.
”Polls consistently show a close race between President Trump and Joe Biden in Minnesota. “We are closely monitoring the Senate race as political outsider and American hero Joe Frazier continues to grow his support,” NRSC spokesperson Philip Retzow said in a statement.
Mr. Fraser is scheduled to take the convention stage a day after Mr. Trump, who is actively working to win Minnesota. It’s unclear whether President Trump will endorse Frazier, who has said he voted for him twice and endorsed him for president in February, but he has the most coveted endorsement in Republican politics. If he can win it, it will be a driving force in the election campaign.
“If he wanted to support me, I would be happy to do so, but we haven’t had any contact. I know he’s coming, and the reason he’s coming is because of public opinion here in Minnesota. We also know it’s because the research is very good,” Fraser said. “There is a desire for change. People are frustrated and angry that the establishment has forgotten who they are working for.”
Fraser said he was preparing a fundraiser and hoped this weekend’s Republican endorsement would “give more legitimacy” to his campaign.
Asked for comment on Frazier’s campaign, Klobuchar’s campaign didn’t seem concerned.
“During the last Congress, she emerged as the senator who introduced the most bipartisan legislation and ranked third in the number of bills passed,” campaign spokesman Ben Hill said in a statement. “She won the fight to force drug companies to lower prescription drug prices, and just this week, a bipartisan bill to help firefighters with service-related cancers is expected to pass through the Judiciary Committee. .”
