Minnesota Lawyer
Michael Brodkrob
Republican Party of Minnesota Deputy Chairman Michael Brodkorb is stepping down from the position to serve as a volunteer adviser to state Republican Sen. Mike Parry‘s campaign for the 1st Congressional District.
Brodkorb, who has been with the party since June 2009, announced his departure on his Facebook page on Monday. The move was out of necessity, he said: According to the bylaws of the Republican Party, he cannot support an unendorsed candidate while working for the state party.
Brodkorb, who said he wants to “get working” on electing Parry to Congress, will stay in his other position as head of communications for the Republican Senate Caucus. On Friday, Parry announced his intentions to challenge DFL incumbent Rep. Tim Walz in the southern Minnesota congressional district.
“Sen. Parry is committed to abiding by the endorsement of the 1st Congressional District Republicans. I believe Sen. Parry can win the endorsement and put the 1st Congressional District where it belongs – in the Republican win column,” Brodkorb wrote. “I have worked closely with Sen. Parry since he was elected in a special election to the Minnesota Senate in January ’10 and genuinely believe he is the right person to do this.”
Brodkorb will volunteer with the Parry campaign. GOP Party Chair Tony Sutton said he will appoint an interim chair later this week, who will serve until the next scheduled GOP Central Committee meeting in December, when a new deputy chair will be elected.
Read the full text of Brodkorb’s statement below:
When I was elected Deputy Chairman of the Republican Party of Minnesota in June of 2009, we had the fewest number of Republican elected officials in decades. Division in our party was at a boiling point, and many Republicans were frustrated with the openness and direction of our Party.
Thanks to the hard work of tremendous candidates, the most-dedicated volunteers in the country, technological upgrades and a reinvigorated State Party, Republicans in Minnesota won big on Election Day in 2010; taking the majority of both chambers of the Minnesota Legislature for the first time in modern history. I am proud to have worked with Chairman Sutton, Secretary-Treasurer David Sturrock and Executive Director Ryan Griffin and the rest of the staff on these endeavors and successes.
This past Friday, State Senator Mike Parry (R-Waseca) filed paperwork to run for Congress in the 1st Congressional District of Minnesota against Congressman Tim Walz. Senator Parry is committed to abiding by the endorsement of the 1st Congressional District Republicans.
I believe Senator Parry can win the endorsement and put the 1st Congressional District where it belongs – in the Republican win column. I have worked closely with Senator Parry since he was elected in a special election to the Minnesota Senate in January ’10 and genuinely believe he is the right person to do this.
At the request of Senator Parry, I have agreed to serve as a volunteer advisor to his campaign for Congress.
- Mike Parry
The Bylaws of the Republican Party of Minnesota prohibit a party officer from supporting a candidate prior to endorsement. Therefore, I am resigning as the Deputy Chair of the Republican Party of Minnesota effective immediately as to abide by the Bylaws and get working on helping Senator Parry become the next Congressman from Southern Minnesota.
I have no regrets about the 831 days I served as your Deputy Chair; I swung for the fences everyday. I may have struck-out a few days, but I was always swinging. I traveled to almost every county in Minnesota, via car, bus, or plane (ok – I won’t miss traveling in a small plane) to keep my campaign commitment of “building our party, winning more elections.”
I stood in boardrooms to raise money for the Party; I stood on street corners in sub-zero weather, bundled with clothes to wave signs for our candidates and after exhausting days of knocking on doors, I slept on your couches (likely snoring!) when I was too tired to make the long drive back home to the Twin Cities. I did everything I could to build our party and win more elections, and working alongside many of you, we accomplished it!
On a more personal note I would like to thank two people in particular:
Ryan Griffin, Executive Director: Many of you know Ryan and know he is not your prototypical Republican operative (If you saw Ryan on a street corner you would assume he was panhandling, not a lawyer and the ED of the MN GOP). Ryan’s artfulness, loyalty, work-ethic and willingness to challenge conventional wisdom has produced many of the successes you’ve seen emanate from the MN GOP – but you wouldn’t know it because Ryan is not a media-hound or credit-seeker; which I truly admire and appreciate. I will miss his loudness.
Chairman Tony Sutton: Thank you! Leading a major political party is brutal. The hours, the scrutiny, physical threats, personal insults and that is just the list for first things Monday mornings. Tony is the best there is. He genuinely loves the Party and loves the activists. Tony has raised records amounts of money, oversaw the take-over of the Legislature and brought the Party back together by being transparent, inclusive and open to change. Tony’s accomplishments as Chair are too numerous to mention. More importantly, Tony is a class act of a man. Honest, caring, empathetic and loyal. I am fortunate we are friends.
I am a very private person, so many of you may not know I have a wonderful family. I want to thank my entire family directly for enduring the tough nature and long hours of my volunteer service as Deputy Chair.
Thank you for all of your sacrifice, labor, and generosity to the Republican Party of Minnesota. I’m certain we will meet-up again on the campaign trail.
Your friend and fellow Republican,
Michael Brodkorb
