Tony Sutton

Dec 19, 2011

Sawalich’s exit shakes up GOP chair contest

Brandon Sawalich's abrupt exit from the GOP chair contest -- following his brief arrest for expired license tabs and questions about a sexual harassment lawsuit settlement -- has left the field wide open.

Dec 16, 2011

Koch’s sudden resignation rocks the Capitol

Senate Majority Leader Amy Koch sent shock waves through the Capitol complex late Thursday afternoon when she announced that she will not seek re-election in 2012 and that she is resigning her post as Senate majority leader, effective immediately.

Dec 16, 2011

Osskopp to make it official, will run for MN GOP chair

He's expected to make the announcement official this morning via news release, he said on Twitter late Thursday.

Dec 14, 2011

Sawalich, Osskopp top field of possible GOP chair candidates

On Dec. 31 Republican activists from across the state will gather in St. Cloud to elect a new party chair. The meeting will cap a tumultuous end to 2011 for the state GOP. Earlier this month Tony Sutton suddenly resigned from the party’s top post. Revelations soon followed that the party is likely more than $1 million in debt.

Dec 14, 2011

Seifert backs Sawalich for MN GOP chair

Seifert's endorsement came the same day Sawalich saw two other Republicans rumored to be mulling runs of their own line up behind his candidacy.

Dec 12, 2011

Vekich takes on advisory role with state GOP

Mike Vekich has been brought on by the Republican Party of Minnesota to help fix the cash-strapped party's finances. Vekich will play a volunteer, advisory role until a new party chairman is elected on December 31.

Dec 12, 2011

Sawalich to run for MN GOP chair

Sawalich, who made an unsuccessful bid for the position in 2009, announced the news on his Twitter feed this morning.

Dec 9, 2011

With the state GOP mired in debt, candidates for the party’s vacant top post have been slow to emerge

Who wants to run the Republican Party of Minnesota? That’s the question that has been generating a steady stream of rumors and trial balloons since state party Chairman Tony Sutton suddenly resigned earlier this month.

Dec 9, 2011

Sutton admits signing recount debt agreement

Amid internal controversies over the Republican Party of Minnesota’s debt after state Chairman Tony Sutton’s resignation, party officers and insiders initially maintained that the state GOP was not legally required to pay the nearly $500,000 in legal fees racked up during the 2010 gubernatorial election recount.

Dec 8, 2011

The Paper Trail: detailing the state GOP’s debt

At Saturday's gathering of the Republican Party's state central committee, Pat Anderson circulated two documents to delegates illuminating the party's current debt. The former state auditor and Republican National Committee member wanted party activists to have a clearer picture of the state GOP's financial obligations under chair Tony Sutton, who resigned on Friday.

Dec 7, 2011

Sutton admits signing agreement for gov recount legal fees, failing to tell other party officials

On Wednesday one of the GOP attorneys on the recount, Tony Trimble, told PIM that then-RPM Chairman Sutton signed an agreement legally obliging the party to cover the full cost of the recount legal fees, reportedly around $450,000. And late Wednesday afternoon, Sutton confirmed the existence of an agreement that he says he does not recall disclosing to other party officials. But Sutton went on to [...]

Dec 7, 2011

Sutton resignation puts focus on state GOP debt, discord

In late November, a group of roughly two dozen Republican activists gathered at a residence in Edina to discuss the future of the state Republican Party. The meeting included a broad cross-section of the GOP’s notoriously fractious base.