Minnesota Lawyer
Kelly Fenton (Staff photo: Peter Bartz-Gallagher)
Republican Party of Minnesota Deputy Chairwoman Kelly Fenton will step down from that position at the start of the year to focus on her campaign for a suburban Minnesota House seat.
Fenton, of Woodbury, said Monday that her last day as deputy chair will be Jan. 1. She is running for the House District 53B seat next fall after incumbent GOP Rep. Andrea Kieffer announced she would not seek re-election. Fenton initially said she would continue as deputy chairwoman during her run for the House.
“I am proud that I served our party during a time of great challenges and was able to provide the leadership to successfully deal with a financial crisis and develop a framework which would enable our party to continue moving forward,” Fenton said in a statement.
Fenton was first elected to the role of deputy chair in December of 2011 after then-deputy Michael Brodkorb stepped down to manage a congressional campaign. Just before Fenton was elected deputy chair, former party chairman Tony Sutton suddenly resigned and left in his wake more than $2 million in unreported debts. Fenton briefly served as interim chair of the party and was part of the team that worked to rebuild the party following Sutton’s resignation. She was re-elected to the position in 2013.
“Our party is gaining momentum every day and reinvigorating the American dream,” Fenton wrote. “As I step down, I take pride in leaving the Party in a better position than I found it and the part I played in restoring transparency and renewing trust.”
