White defeated establishment candidate Joe Fraser by a 9.2 percent margin after receiving many top endorsements from populist Republicans
MINNEAPOLIS—Royce White, a former professional basketball player and radio host, won the Republican primary on Aug. 13 for Minnesota’s U.S. Senate election in November against Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.).
White, who has attracted attention for controversial comments about Judaism and Israel, won the primary with 38.5 percent of the vote, according to The Associated Press. He defeated former U.S. Navy intelligence officer Joe Fraser, who secured 29.3 percent of the vote.
“For many years, Republicans have talked about expanding our tent and focusing on the Twin Cities Metro. I am committed to growing the base, bringing disenfranchised Democrats into the tent, and unifying all conservatives in Minnesota,” White wrote on X after winning the primary.
White was the populist favorite in the primary, and his campaign was endorsed by Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.), Republican Senate nominee Kari Lake of Arizona, MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell, former Trump adviser Steve Bannon, and InfoWars founder Alex Jones, among others. White was also formally endorsed by the Minnesota Republican Party at its convention in May, where delegates voted by a two-thirds majority in favor of his nomination.
Fraser, by contrast, was supported by more establishment Republican figures, such as former Gov. Tim Pawlenty—the last Republican elected to statewide office in Minnesota in 2006—and former U.S. Sens. Norm Coleman and Rudy Boschwitz. Fraser’s campaign primarily focused on White’s electability.
“I am saddened that our ability to compete in the general election has been thwarted by our party’s embrace of an unelectable candidate,” Fraser wrote in a concession statement on X.
White’s controversial comments include his claim that Jewish identity is focused on the Holocaust “to provide a victimhood cover for their own corrupt practices.” He has also previously criticized Republicans’ support for Israel, writing that Israel is “a country that takes our tax money to be ethno-national.” He added that “Israel has a right to exist but not to be the lynchpin of New World Order.”
In 2022, White ran for Congress in the Republican primary for Minnesota’s 5th Congressional District, covering metropolitan Minneapolis, which has been represented by Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) since 2018. He lost the primary.
By Arjun Singh
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