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Crime is top of mind for Republicans going after the Attorney General’s office : NPR


Republicans in Minnesota hope to win Democrats’ five-decade spot for the Attorney General’s office by categorizing the race as almost exclusively about crime.



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Minnesota’s attorney general, Keith Ellison, faces a re-election vote this fall. He is one of the nation’s highest-profile attorneys general. And one way to talk about the split in the vote is between those who focus on the murder of George Floyd and the issues raised and those who focus on other crimes. This is Dana Ferguson of Minnesota Public Radio.

DANA FERGUSON, BYLINE: Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison won his seat in 2018. Democrats are now running for a second term. On the campaign trail, he’s worked to highlight his successful efforts to sue companies that have dumped prices during the pandemic and forged settlements with opioid manufacturers that have brought in goods. million dollars to Minnesota for treatment.

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KEITH ELLISON: As your attorney general, I work every day to lift people’s spirits – to help you make ends meet and live with dignity, safety, and respect.

FERGUSON: The attorney general’s office usually doesn’t investigate violent crimes, but it can prosecute local cases. Ellison likes to point out that he has won all the cases assigned to him, most notably the prosecution of former police officer Derek Chauvin in the murder of George Floyd. Even so, the former congressman is in a tight race with Republican Jim Schultz, a former corporate attorney new to politics. His focus is on public safety. Schultz says Ellison is still not doing enough to tackle the alarming rise in crime in Minneapolis.

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JIM SCHULTZ: What I’ve called the last few years a man-made disaster because it wasn’t. We could have adopted sensible policies to tackle the extraordinary crime that is paralyzing communities, taking lives, taking lives.

FERGUSON: Several states have tracked the rise of violent crime amid the pandemic. In Minnesota, violent crime was up 21% last year compared with 2020. Schultz’s campaign and his support groups were everywhere with ads accusing Ellison of violence.

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UNPROVED PERSON #1: This is a call from an inmate at a Minnesota correctional facility. Tap one to accept.

ANNOUNCEMENT #2: Hello.

ACTOR #1 UNCONFIRMED: Hey. I want you to know why inmates support Attorney General Keith Ellison.

FERGUSON: Several videos show mayhem erupting in the Twin Cities following the murder of George Floyd. Others showed scenes of looting, looting and brutal fighting. All include photos of Ellison. And one narrator says the attorney general helped promote lawlessness.

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UNIQUE #2: Keith Ellison wants to get rid of the police with the all-time high murders in the Twin Cities.

FERGUSON: Critics say the ad has a racist undertone. The Democrats-Farmer-Labour Party filed a complaint against Schultz’s campaign and the independent groups that placed the ads. A review by the state campaign finance board is underway. University of Minnesota professor Larry Jacobs says the ads exaggerate Ellison’s position, but are still influential.

LARRY JACOBS: I think those images – shocking images of the Minneapolis riots and crime – are imprinting in the minds of supporters.

FERGUSON: Pro-Schultz police groups and sheriffs have both criticized Ellison’s decision to support the failed effort to create a new public safety agency. Meanwhile, county prosecutors endorsed Ellison and community leaders in neighborhoods hardest hit by violent crime saying that Ellison was the one who asked them how he got his way. can help. For more than five decades, Minnesota’s attorney general has been a Democrat. Voters will decide on Tuesday whether the shadow of the chaos that followed Floyd’s murder and the fight against crime and policy changes that. For NPR News, I’m Dana Ferguson of Minneapolis.

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