On Tuesday, the Minnesota GOP State Executive Committee held a secret meeting to determine the fate of the duly elected delegates of Otter Tail County. After Chair Hann’s decision to unilaterally remove hundreds of delegates from the caucus process, activists and legislators across the state made their voices heard.

Shortly after the February 27th caucus night, hundreds of delegates in Otter Tail County were informed by Chair Hann that they were no longer delegates to their BPOU convention. He claimed they did not follow the rules, despite proof saying otherwise.

After a third meeting to discuss his actions, the 15-member executive committee voted to uphold the decision to leave the delegates out of the party. This means that delegates elected in 2022 will likely be seated in 2024. 

This decision was made despite the hundreds of activists and dozens of legislators who called, emailed, and issued public statements condemning the actions of the State Executive Committee.

There are a few theories as to why Hann is working hard to keep these delegates from being seated. The most prominent theory being that Tommy Merickal – an establishment hack who is in the ear of Dave Hann – wants to protect his favorite congresswoman from losing the Republican Party Endorsement. That’s right, Fischbach is facing an endorsement challenge from conservative business owner Steve Boyd.

If this is true, it sets a dangerous precedent within the Republican Party. This new precedent means that party leadership can pick and choose the winners by silencing any opposition. Not only is that wrong, but it is anti-American.

It’s not too late to stop Hann and his effort to disenfranchise these delegates. It is up to CD 7 convention goers to rectify this wrong by voting to break into precincts and voting to seat the disenfranchised delegates. 

According to Truth Hurts News, State Exec members Joe Ditto, Wendy Phillips, Mark Bishofsky, Jenna Dicks, and Alec Beck voted to overturn Hann’s decision and seat the delegates.

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