GOP state Representatives are complaining about radical leftist Brad Tabke (54A) but when they had a chance to do something about him, all but two Republicans caved to the Democrats.

Republicans have been on the attack against Tabke for voting against an amendment pushed by Rep. Max Rymer (28B) that would have reported a violent illegal alien who murdered a woman in Shakopee (Tabke’s district) to federal ICE officials. A4L is in agreement with the substance of the argument but hypocritical RINOs could have blocked Tabke from being a member of the House rather than depending on his vote! Why complain about a self-imposed problem? Predictably, Tabke has not taken a single floor vote to distinguish himself from his party despite his very purple district.

At the beginning of this year’s legislative session, the GOP could have upheld election integrity and given themselves a majority by refusing to seat Tabke. 21 ballots were trashed in that district and the race was decided by only 15 votes. Democrats understood that Tabke’s removal could be a very real possibility so their entire caucus no-showed the opening weeks of session and held an illegitimate swearing-in ceremony which included Tabke. It was so outrageous that even the RINO-led House Republican Campaign Committee (HRCC) called it fake!

Action 4 Liberty led the way on election integrity and demanded GOP Reps refuse to accept an election certificate when undeniable fraud took place that could have decided the outcome of the election. We reported on the election fraud, how the GOP could revoke the certification, and how this would result in a swing district special election that could give the GOP a true majority. Our presence became so threatening that Tabke even started including our articles in fundraising emails to prove that he may not be seated. 

House Republicans had the golden opportunity to require clean elections and potentially give themselves a true majority but they instead signed onto a crooked deal with Democrats that recognized Democrats’ sham swearing-in ceremony as legitimate, caved to the liberal Supreme Court, required 68 votes for legislation, and seated Brad Tabke. Only Reps Tom Dippel (41B) and Drew Roach (58B) opposed the rules that allowed this to take place. Rymer and others may complain now but they didn't have the guts to take the tough vote. See vote below:

Instead of refusing to seat Tabke, thus opening up a swing district special election, the GOP told conservatives to focus on deep blue house district 40B after Democrat Curtis Johnson lost his seat due to residency violations. Republican Paul Wikstrom ran against Johnson in 2024 and ran again in the special election against radical leftist David Gottfired. Wikstrom went on to lose the special election by over 40 percentage points despite the campaign spending over $115K, which was about 5 percentage points worse than he performed in the 2024 general election. MNGOP party leaders and politicians fed false hope to conservatives and claimed that they could win.

Wikstrom’s campaign did nothing to advance conservative interests, however, it did make now-Senator RINO Keri Heintzeman (SD6) a few thousand bucks. The Establishment says A4L is irrelevant but also expects us to flip a 40 point blue district... Maybe the Establishment just doesn’t like that we use our influence to push truth instead of team red kool-aid! Perhaps Republicans, who haven't won statewide in nearly two decades, should coalesce with the liberty conservative, pro-grassroots block of their party rather than trying to purge it.    

GOP caucus members tell A4L that they now realize how big of a mistake it was to put all their eggs in the heavily democratic 40B race instead of rejecting Tabke's election certificate. Meanwhile, the Dems have shared control of the House and have used that leverage to block the Education appropriations omnibus bill. The GOP could be doing the same thing in the opposite direction! The conservative base is fed up with RINOs who cave to Democrats and pretend they can’t do anything. As much as it pains the GOP politicians to admit, A4L was right all along. 

Republicans have the ability to fight and deliver a budget with pre-covid spending levels but there is no sign that the GOP is willing to fight. With many unconstitutional, multi-subject, big government, liberal omnibus budget and policy bills set to pass with GOP support (like the budget increases for ANTIFA Keith & the LGBTQIA2S+ Council), GOP Reps have shown that they gained absolutely nothing out of seating radical leftist Brad Tabke. A4L will continue to expose the corruption controlling our state and being a bulldog for liberty.