Minnesota Lawyer
Rep. Tom Emmer (R-Delano)
In what his opponents are calling a “personal smear,” GOP gubernatorial candidate Marty Seifert has made a campaign issue of fellow GOP endorsement contender Tom Emmer’s two previous arrests for driving while intoxicated.
Seifert campaign manager Kurt Daudt released a letter written by GOP delegate from Chisago County Sandra Berg to Republican delegates dated April 20. Berg recounted that her husband and son were injured in a 2009 crash with a drunk driver.
She said that Emmer “was not entirely forthcoming” at a recent candidate debate about his DWI arrests that occurred 20 and 30 years ago. She also wrote that Emmer has “worked to lighten Minnesota’s drunk driving laws-the same laws which some experts say are too lax.”
“The Republican candidate this summer and fall should be painting a vision for the future prosperity of Minnesota and our restored freedoms; proposing serious solutions to our current problems; and chastising the DFL agenda of more government and higher taxes.
Rep. Marty Seifert (R-Marshall)
“It would be a horrible shame if our candidate, instead, was on the defensive about his judgment and self-dealing, not to mention his past record or arrests and convictions.”
Emmer’s campaign chairman Mark Buesgens responded that Seifert is using the woman’s story “to help deliver his cynical personal attack.”
“We’re all used to October surprises by the Democrats, but we never thought Marty would sink so low to launch this April surprise against a fellow Republican at the last minute before the convention,” Buesgens said. “The fact is that Tom has been upfront with delegates about this issue. They were the subject of a newspaper article last year and Tom has been very forthcoming about his actions to anyone who asked.”
Republicans will gather in Minneapolis to endorse a candidate on the weekend of April 30.
