MINNEAPOLIS — Minneapolis-based attorney Chris Madel, whose defense of a state trooper charged with murder raised his profile last year, launched a campaign for Minnesota governor Monday. He joins a growing field of candidates who will battle for the Republican nomination.
Madel represented State Patrol Officer Ryan Londregan, who was charged with murder and manslaughter after he shot and killed Ricky Cobb II in 2023. Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty wound up dropping the charges against Londregan.
Madel is also an attorney for the Minnesota Police and Peace Officers Association and the conservative news site Alpha News.
“Minnesota has been bled dry by special interests and fraudsters under Tim Walz’s failed leadership,” Madel said in a statement. “This needs to end and it will end with me as governor of Minnesota.”
Madel grew up in Waseca and was a trial attorney in the U.S. Department of Justice’s antitrust division. He has a long history of defending law enforcement and white collar criminals, and he helped the late Minnesota Twins Hall of Famer Kirby Puckett win an acquittal against felony criminal charges in 2003.
Alliance for a Better Minnesota, a well-financed group aligned with Democrats, released a statement, saying Madel would be a “rubber stamp on President Trump’s harmful agenda.” Perhaps seeking to help his Republican opponents, ABM pointed out that Madel has contributed to Walz’s previous campaigns.
Other Republicans running include Minnesota House Speaker Lisa Demuth; Republican Rep. Kristin Robbins; 2022 GOP nominee for governor Scott Jensen; and Kendall Qualls, an army veteran and health care executive.
If Republicans can raise money and blanket the media, they’ll have plenty to work with to attack Walz’s nearly eight years in office, especially the theft of hundreds of millions of dollars from government programs.
In the past week, Walz and the state garnered national attention for the fraud that has infiltrated at least two of Minnesota’s Medicaid programs, in addition to the pandemic food aid program fraud known as the Feeding Our Future scandal. Trump has been attacking Walz and Minnesota’s Somali community for days.
The New York Times over the weekend published a front-page article detailing the fraud that has occurred in recent years.
Walz — who is seeking a third, four-year term — went on “Meet the Press” Sunday, where he was asked about Trump’s comments and his stewardship of Minnesota.
“I take responsibility for putting people in jail. Governors don’t get to just talk theoretically, we have to solve problems. And I will note, it’s not just Somalis. Minnesota is a generous state, Minnesota is a prosperous state, a well-run state. We’re AAA bond rated. But that attracts criminals. Those people are going to jail. We’re doing everything we can. But to demonize an entire community on the actions of a few? It’s lazy,” Walz said.
Minnesota Reformer is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Minnesota Reformer maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor J. Patrick Coolican for questions: info@minnesotareformer.com.
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