State GOP chair condemns arrested candidate
Another top Republican leader distanced himself Tuesday from the Minnesota House candidate who was arrested and jailed on suspicion of domestic assault and strangulation.
Republican Party of Minnesota Chairman Keith Downey said the allegations made against GOP candidate Brad Gerten of Burnsville are “beyond unacceptable.” He said domestic violence has “no place in the Republican Party.”
Gerten was booked Sunday in the Dakota County jail.
With the election just five weeks away, Downey said there isn’t much else he can do other than condemn the incident.
“There’s no way to get him off the ballot or anything like that,” Downey said. “Everything is in process. What he chooses to do with his campaign from here, I don’t know. But clearly the party is not going to be supporting him.”
House Speaker Kurt Daudt had also closed to door on supporting Gerten. Daudt, R-Zimmerman, issued a statement Monday saying that no resources from the House Republican Campaign Committee would be spent in Gerten’s district.
Gerten is running for the House District 51A seat currently held Rep. Sandra Masin, DFL-Eagan.
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