Things looking up for Demuth

The sitting MN House Speaker received some good news Thursday in her campaign for governor. 

An internal poll from a conservative nonprofit group says Minnesota House Speaker Lisa Demuth has a slight lead in the Republican primary for governor of Minnesota. The poll was obtained by Alpha News earlier this week.

Conducted by the Minnesota Private Business Council, the poll surveyed 1,601 likely Republican primary voters between June 23-25 and has a margin of error or 2.5%. Notably, the poll appears to have been conducted without the use of a professional polling firm.

According to the survey, 29.1% of respondents said they would vote for Demuth if the GOP gubernatorial primary were held today. Meanwhile, business executive Kendall Qualls got 23.9% of the vote, and MyPillow founder Mike Lindell got 20.4% of the vote.

However, 25.7% of those polled said they were “Unsure — I haven’t decided yet.” Of the undecided group, 55.9% said they were “completely undecided” while 17.1% leaned toward Demuth, 14.4% leaned toward Qualls, and 12.6% leaned toward Lindell.

Demuth certainly has the bona fides for proving she can govern effectively in addition to being in a better fundraising position than her opponents. It would still be a major uphill climb to defeat the juggernaut that is Amy Klobuchar, but nominating a candidate with a nonzero chance is obviously better than absolute zero. 

In addition to solid polling numbers, Demuth also received a high profile endorsement.  

The Minnesota Gun Owners Caucus & PAC today announced our full endorsement of Lisa Demuth for Governor and Ryan Wilson for Lieutenant Governor.

Lisa Demuth has earned the trust of Minnesota gun owners through her consistent defense of the constitutional rights of law-abiding citizens. As Speaker of the Minnesota House, Demuth has helped lead the fight against efforts to restrict the right to keep and bear arms while advancing policies that focus on violent offenders rather than peaceable firearm owners.

“Lisa Demuth understands that the constitutional rights of Minnesota gun owners are not negotiable,” said Bryan Strawser, Chairman of the Minnesota Gun Owners Caucus & PAC. “She has been a steady and effective leader against efforts to criminalize ordinary Minnesotans for exercising their rights. At a time when those rights face continued attacks at the Capitol, Minnesota needs a Governor who will stand firmly with law-abiding gun owners.”

“Speaker Demuth has consistently listened to Minnesota gun owners and understood the difference between responsible firearm ownership and criminal violence,” said Anna Leamy, Director of Government Relations and Advocacy for the Minnesota Gun Owners Caucus. “She has stood against unconstitutional and ineffective gun control proposals and supported policies that respect the rights of law-abiding Minnesotans. Lisa Demuth and Ryan Wilson will provide the leadership Minnesota needs to defend those rights.”

The Minnesota Gun Owners Caucus is proud to support Lisa Demuth for Governor and Ryan Wilson for Lieutenant Governor and encourages our members and supporters across Minnesota to support their campaign.

Other candidates for Governor also participated in the Minnesota Gun Owners Caucus candidate survey process. Others chose to side with anti-gun activists and organizations. Their candidate grades are available for public review at gunowners.mn/governor.

To be fair, both Qualls and Lindell received "A" grades from the Caucus. However, Demuth had to keep every single solitary Republican in the MN House unified against an assault weapons ban which passed in the Senate. That's not an easy thing to accomplish given Republicans can't seem to agree what kind of toppings to have on pizza, let alone vote in unanimity on legislation.  

I've often said that I don't make public whom I support in a Republican primary simply because I want to ensure *all* GOP candidates feel welcome to come on my radio show. That, and no one really gives two squats what I think. But I believe it's been pretty obvious from my writings of late that I wholeheartedly support Lisa Demuth to be the Republican nominee for Minnesota governor. In fact, I voted early just last week to ensure she has my vote banked. 

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Kendall Qualls alleged to have committed significant campaign violations

Former MN State Senator (and frequent NARN guest host) David Osmek has filed a Campaign Finance Board complaint against MNGOP-endorsed gubernatorial candidate Kendall Qualls. 

For purposes of full disclosure, Osmek was rumored last year to have been Qualls' Lt. Gov. designate before Brian Nicholson was ultimately chosen as Qualls' running mate. As such, Osmek's frequent criticism of Qualls over the past several months has been dismissed by some activists as sour grapes. 

With all that said, here is a copy of Osmek's complaint. You can decide for yourself how damning this may or may not be. 

For those who respond with "TL; DR," the substance of the complaint is Qualls has allegedly "been running his gubernatorial campaign" out of the offices of the nonprofit organization TakeCharge, an org founded by Qualls and wife Sheila. 

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Quick Hits: Volume CDXV

- The fact prominent leftists (including many elected members of Congress) turned a blind eye to the dark, creepy background of U.S. Senate candidate Graham Platner was a mere confirmation of their lust for power as opposed to standing on the principle of "believe all women." 

When conservative activist Lyndsey Fifield discussed Platner's abusive behavior when the two dated a decade-plus ago, many dismissed her story as a partisan attempt to undermine his candidacy. So when a different former girlfriend of Platner, who happens to be left-of-center, comes forward with serious allegations of assault, that is apparently a whole other can of worms. 

The woman, a 41-year-old Maine resident named Jenny Racicot, detailed the alleged incident to POLITICO in three interviews over the past two weeks. POLITICO also spoke with a man Racicot dated and confided in the years after the alleged incident, and reviewed documents, including emails between Racicot and her therapist and messages between Racicot and an acquaintance whom she warned against getting involved with Platner years before he ran for office.

Racicot said she had an on-and-off relationship with Platner, who is now the Democratic Senate nominee in Maine, for more than two years before he entered her rural Maine home uninvited one night in late 2021, deeply intoxicated, and forced himself on her while she repeatedly told him to stop. She said she cut off contact with him after telling him the encounter was not consensual.

“I remember him grabbing my pelvis and being really forceful of me,” she said. “I remember the specific moment where I thought to myself, like, ‘This is no longer my choice.’”

Platner denied the allegations.

But the catalyst for Racicot going on the record resulted in a collective exploding cigar in the face to the aforementioned prominent Dems who were all in on Platner despite Fifield's abuse allegations.  

Racicot said she later felt compelled to go public about her experience because the reaction to the Times story was dominated by controversy about another woman, Lyndsey Fifield, who alleged Platner mistreated her and faced attacks because of her ties to the Republican Party.

It's notable that there is a July 13 deadline to replace Platner as the Dem nominee. You can bet your last dollar had these same allegations occurred after that date, there wouldn't be nearly the fervent calls for Platner to step down as there have been since this story broke Monday.

Yeah, it would appear leftists were willing to sell what little moral fiber they owned in an effort to attain a Senate majority. Now it appears they didn't even do that correctly. Heckuva job, all. 

- Buzzkill. 

The USMNT lose 4-1 to Belgium in the Round of 16 and are eliminated from the 2026 World Cup. 🇺🇸💔 pic.twitter.com/s3naug2WoT

— USMNT Only (@usmntonly) July 7, 2026

Oh, well. I guess this means we can now return our full attention to America's real favorite pastime: summarily ignoring soccer. 

- Of the 20 or so major metropolitan areas which are home to at least 3 of the 4 major men's sports leagues (MLB, NFL, NHL and NBA), the Twin Cities has the longest championship drought at nearly 35 years. 

Before that it was Cleveland, which endured a 52-year dry spell before their NBA team the Cavaliers won a title in 2016. The centerpiece of that championship team? LeBron James. 

So is it possible that, 11 years later, James could be the missing piece in bringing a different championship-starved region an NBA title? 

The Minnesota Timberwolves have ramped up their push for LeBron James, with full belief that they are very much in the hunt to land one of the greatest players in NBA history, league sources told The Athletic.

The sources, who spoke on condition of anonymity to describe ongoing deliberations, said the Timberwolves have been in contact with James’ representatives with a bold pitch: team up with Anthony Edwards, LaMelo Ball, Jaden McDaniels and Rudy Gobert to go after the kind of championship that could end any discussion about who is the greatest player of all time.

The Wolves firmly believe they have the best situation for the 41-year-old James as he prepares for his 24th season. They have a core headlined by Edwards, Ball and McDaniels that can take a lot of the offensive pressure off James’ shoulders. They have McDaniels and Gobert to help ease James’ workload on defense, as well.

Most importantly, they have a story for James to tell. Unlike several of the other options on the table for him, including the Golden State Warriors, Miami Heat and James’ hometown Cleveland Cavaliers, the Timberwolves have never won a championship. The Vikings and Wild are title-less as well. The Twins’ World Series win in 1991 marks the last time a Minnesota men’s professional sports franchise won it all, the longest drought among U.S. markets with all four major sports. The people of Minnesota are desperate for a championship.

The Wolves think if James picks them over all the other suitors — cold weather and lack of spending power be damned — it would be the biggest possible statement he could make in the long-running greatest player of all time debate between him and Michael Jordan.

The kicker? James would be the first player in NBA history to be a part of four different franchises to win a title. Having accomplished literally everything else in the game (i.e. championship rings, MVPs, all-time scoring leader, accumulating a billion-plus dollars in wealth, etc.), why not notch something that literally no one else can lay claim to? 

As a Timberwolves fan, I'd sign any petition advocating for a LeBron statue outside the team's home arena the millisecond the franchise hoists a Larry O'Brien trophy. 

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Box Score of the Week

There have been some memorable moments in Major League Baseball history on the 4th of July. As such, let's check out a July 4th game from 1984 where the New York Yankees took on the Texas Rangers. 

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Yankees starting pitcher Phil Niekro notched his 3,000 career strikeout this game, making him the first knuckleballer to reach that milestone. 

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Box Score of the Week

Kansas City Athletics at Chicago White Sox - September 28, 1958.

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At age 18 years and 348 days, Lou Klimchock hit a leadoff home run for the Athletics. To this day, he is the youngest major leaguer ever to do so. 

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The NARN Closer's playlist - 6/28/2026

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I'd listen to the words he'd say, but in his voice I heard decay.....

It's the last Sunday in June, which means 2026.....is half over?!?!?! WHAT?!?!?!

Regardless, a lot to get to on today's edition of my radio show The Closer. The 2-hour blitz will get started at 1:00 PM Central Time. 

In the non-guest segments, I'll discuss the latest in the GOP battle for MN governor. Also, I'll address multiple complaints I received about last week's guest host Dave Osmek. 

At 1:15, geopolitical wonk Amanda Peterson will join the broadcast to weigh in on the latest with the Iran war as well as other foreign policy happenings. 

Finally at 2:30, newly crowned Miss Minnesota Anna Brennan will stop by to discuss her new title. 

So please call (651) 289-4488 if you'd like to weigh in on any of the topics we plan on addressing.

 

You can listen live in the Twin Cities at AM 1280 or, if you're near downtown Minneapolis/West Metro area, 107.5 FM on your radio dial. In and out of the Minneapolis-St Paul area you can listen to the program on the Internet by clicking this link, or check us out via iheart radio as well as Amazon Alexa (just say "Alexa, play The Patriot Minneapolis"). If you're unable to tune in live, please check out my podcast page for the latest show post.

And if you're so inclined, follow along on Twitter at #NARNShow or "Like" our Facebook page, where we also conduct a "Live Stream" of the broadcast.

Until then.....

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Proud to be an American.....with conditions

Earlier this year when the Men's U.S. Olympic hockey team won the gold medal for the first time since the 1980 "Miracle on Ice" squad, the excitement among Americans was palatable. Or at least it was among right-of-center politicos and those who are apolitical. Y'see political leftists, particularly over the past decade or two, have steadily lost pride in their country based largely upon the fact Donald J. Trump was elected President of the United States twice. As such, they couldn't even cheer on their fellow countrymen upon accomplishing something significant in the name of America. 

The World Cup is the latest thing. 

The triumph of the World Cup’s first two weeks — boosting the U.S.’s global reputation with sold-out stadiums and few logistical complications — has forced Democrats who had criticized President Donald Trump’s role in preparations to grudgingly reconsider.

“I think that there was a little bit of like liberal wishcasting that this would maybe be a disaster to sort of stick it to Trump,” said Rob Flaherty, the digital Democratic strategist and soccer fan who attended the U.S. group-stage match with Australia. “It hasn’t yet been.”

To be fair, there have been some Democrat officials who expressed delight with how the tournament has fared thus far. But a couple of big names just can't seem to put aside their disdain for Trump in order to give props. 

Though other prominent Democrats including California Gov. Gavin Newsom and Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, along with (NYC Mayor Zohran) Mamdani and (New Jersey Governor Mikie) Sherrill, have all attended games, few among them have been willing to articulate anything that sounds like praise for the authorities putting on the event.

It's as if these thumb suckers believe that even tacit approval of the World Cup festivities is somehow tantamount to showing approval of Trump. What an absolute miserable existence. 

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