The MNGOP has become the antithesis of grassroots conservatives due to failed leadership. The swampy, establishment, backroom deal-making that America First conservatives despise has become the standard operating procedure of the MNGOP. The party’s Chair, RINO David Hann, has destroyed the party by causing financial ruin, abandoning core conservative principles, disenfranchising delegates to rig endorsing conventions, and being completely out of touch with the grassroots.

On December 14th, the MNGOP State Central Committee will meet to hold elections for Chair, Deputy Chair, and Secretary. Many figured that Hann’s abysmal track record as Chair would mean that he would not seek reelection but he announced on November 21st via email that he would run again. Shockingly, David Hann simultaneously announced his running mate would be a shady political operative and newly elected Monticello City Councilman named Kip Christianson instead of incumbent Donna Bergstrom.

The rumor floating around was that the establishment slate of candidates was going to be Kip Christianson for Chair, Walter Hudson for Deputy Chair, and Joy Orvis for Secretary. This plan appeared to be in motion temporarily as Hudson’s name was listed on the Nomination Petitions sheet for the Deputy Chair position. Despite being an avid user of X (formerly Twitter), Hudson did not make a single post about his short-lived run. This was likely because his bosses were still working out a deal.

Once Hann announced his run for reelection and selection of Kip as his running mate, Walter Hudson dropped out of the race and immediately endorsed Hann/Christianson. Perhaps Hudson's salaried employment as “Strategic Outreach and Engagement Director” of the MNGOP was promised to continue or another monetary agreement was reached. While conservatives do not base their vote for Chair based on who will pay them, Walter is in very a different spot than the grassroots and his endorsement of Hann and Kip could not make that more clear!

Hudson was once seen by many as a “Liberty Champion” but has become a tool of the Establishment very quickly into his legislative career. Walter exposed himself at the CD6 Convention by using his political capital to get delegates to usher Globalist RINO Tom Emmer in unopposed and censor his only opponent, professional golf caddy Chris Corey. Hudson also endorsed RINO Ron Kresha in HD10A over grassroots conservative Diane Webb Skillings and helped usher in a law that can send you to prison over AI memes.

While Action 4 Liberty appreciates that Walter Hudson introduced our Never Again Bill, he has yet to bring a vote on it on the House floor.

Incumbent Deputy Chair Donna Bergstrom sent an email to delegates informing them that David Hann told her that he was going to support her reelection bid! It appears she did not know Hann would do this until she got the email herself. This move reflects on Hann's character showing disloyalty. He likely back-stabbed Donna in order to work out a deal so that Kip Christianson, or someone else, would not challenge him for Chair! See the email from Donna below:

David Hann is proving himself to be a manipulative liar who is desperate to hang onto power. But is his new running mate any better? Surely he wouldn’t be a manipulative liar too…

In 2020, Kip Christianson fooled a blind, wheelchair-bound veteran into getting on the ballot with the Grassroots-Legalize Cannabis Party while being paid by the Republican National Committee. The veteran, Kevin “Ne Se” Shores, says he was deceived into thinking that Kip was a member of the marijuana-based third party. Is a willingness to lie, cheat, and manipulate disabled veterans the type of dishonest leadership Republicans are looking for?

Kip has a history of being used as a political pawn for the Establishment like his involvement at the 2016 Raymond Harvest Fest parade where he allegedly shoved people and earned the label of a “political stalker” while working for the RINO funded, anti-grassroots MN Jobs Coalition. Kip doesn’t look like a political stalker, right? See below: 

Kip also chose to physically push and try to remove the author of this article from the 2023 December MNGOP State Central Committee by falsely claiming there was no disclaimer on the following flyers distributed. As you can see below, the disclaimers are properly noted at the bottom:

David Hann may want a Deputy Chair who is equally spineless on the issue of abortion. Many may remember Hann’s email to candidates demanding that they say that abortions, up to the moment of birth, is a Constitutionally protected Right in Minnesota but many may not know that as an RNC delegate, Kip Christianson voted to remove the Pro-Life language from the RNC platform. 

The shadiness surrounding the Hann/Christianson campaign is the perfect representation of RINOs spitting in the face of the grassroots. Are Republicans to believe that Trump would have won Minnesota if Kip was Deputy Chair instead of Donna? This is a doubling-down on the divisive, anti-grassroots, anti-conservative, failed leadership that NEVER delivers for their base! Even the Establishment should realize that Hann/Christianson is a dream team for Democrats, the Dems could not ask for weaker competition!

The Deputy Chair race is currently contested by incumbent Donna Bergstrom, Sketchy Kip Christianson, and Cass County BPOU Chair Fred Hage. Delegates received the following email from Fred Hage concerning his candidacy. See below:

Candidates for all MNGOP officer positions up for grabs will have to earn the votes of grassroots delegates who want the party to hold fair endorsing conventions, support the endorsed candidates, help Republicans in the general election, and force GOP legislators to pass a Liberty Agenda. This change in direction for the MNGOP would be opposite of David Hann’s history of (unilaterally at first) disenfranchising duly-elected delegates in Otter Tail County from being seated at the 2024 CD7 and State Conventions. Despite these grassroots Patriots doing nothing wrong, they were not to the Establishment’s liking and have been treated like garbage ever since. Locals say that Kip Christianson has offered up some double-speak to them by suggesting he would help make things right. However, private conversations do no good. The only way to get the truth is a public pledge that Patriots can hold “leaders” to account with. That is EXACTLY what Patriots in Otter Tail County did which they say has been sent to each candidate running for Chair, Deputy Chair, and Secretary. See pledge below:

Action 4 Liberty will report on which candidates sign on and stand with the grassroots and which ones will openly admit that they will continue to screw Otter Tail conservatives over. David Hann has been a nightmare as MNGOP Chair who does not believe that Democrats are the enemy. He has instead chosen to pick fights with the grassroots and needs Kip to help put the nail in the coffin. Donna Bergstrom will still have to earn the votes of conservatives who have seen her carry David Hann’s water despite her knowing better. According to Truth Hurts News, Bergstrom even sided with Hann during the critical Otter Tail vote on the MNGOP State Exec. Committee. If Donna wants to win, she is going to have to correct course.

Read our previous reporting on Royce White calling out David Hann for a list of his transgressions against conservatives and the grassroots.

Current candidates on the MNGOP Nomination Petitions Google Sheets shows the following candidates for each office:

Chair: RINO incumbent David Hann, Three Rivers Park Commissioner Jennifer DeJournett, Former Crow Wing County BPOU Chair Forest Hyatt, 2022 Governor candidate and incoming Lexington Mayor Mike Murphy, Former Veteran Affairs Field Rep. for late Congressman Jim Hagedorn named Armin Joseph Steck Jr., and 2022 GOP Endorsed Senate candidate (SD5) Bret Bussman. Otter Tail County conservative Mike Langlie has a Facebook page for a Chair campaign but does not yet appear on the nomination petitions.

Deputy Chair: Incumbent and 2018 GOP Lt. Governor nominee (running with Jeff Johnson) Donna Bergstrom, shady political operative and newly elected Monticello city councilman Kip Christianson, and longtime Cass County BPOU Chair Fred Hage.

Secretary: Establishment-backed Joy Orvis, MORVets Chair Ed Gross, and young conservative activist Bradley Strand.