Republican congressional delegation to skip Minnesota GOP’s annual fundraiser amid internal tensions

Hundreds of conservatives across Minnesota are set to gather in Bloomington on Monday evening for one of the state Republican Party’s biggest fundraising events of the year.

But none of the state‘s highest-ranking Republicans are expected to attend amid disagreements with the direction the party is going under the leadership of its new chairman Alex Plechash and executive director Jennifer DeJournett, who they believe are associating too closely with conservative grassroots factions of the party, several Republican sources told the Minnesota Star Tribune.

It’s a stark contrast from last year, when President Donald Trump headlined the fundraiser and the state‘s highest-ranking GOP Rep. Tom Emmer, the No. 3 Republican in the U.S. House, pledged to donate $100,000 to the party.

“I think the congressional folks want to see a strong party and want to see a party that they can work with,” said former Minnesota GOP Chair David Hann, who lost the leadership position to Plechash in December. “It seems that they’re not finding that in the current administration.”

Plechash denied that there‘s friction between the state party and congressional delegation, calling it “simply false.”

He said more than 450 people are expected to attend the party’s Lincoln-Reagan dinner on Monday night. “That’s not the sign of a party in disarray; that’s the sign of a party on the rise,” Plechash said in a written statement. He denied a request for an interview.

Republican sources say the congressional delegation is refusing to help the party financially until it stops its affiliation with Action 4 Liberty and gets rid of party officials they believe are too closely affiliated with the group. Action 4 Liberty is a far-right group that has antagonized GOP elected officials for years.

If the party stops these affiliations, the delegation may step back in and support the party. If it doesn’t, the party may be left to fend for itself at a time when it’s already struggling financially and has two major pickup opportunities next year with U.S. Sen. Tina Smith retiring and Rep. Angie Craig leaving her competitive Second Congressional District seat to run for the U.S. Senate.

“If they’re just going to throw their hands up and say, we‘re going to destroy the party, well, then they’re just going to burn the house down and Minnesota is further down the road to hell than even I thought,” said former Minnesota Republican Rep. Jason Lewis, who said he also had to work with the various factions of the party during his tenure.

The U.S. House is not in session Monday but GOP Reps. Pete Stauber and Michelle Fischbach both said they would not be in town for the fundraising dinner.

“I’m busy on that evening so won’t be able to do it, but I support the Republicans,” Stauber said when asked about his attendance and about friction between the delegation and the state party.

Fischbach also demurred when asked about tensions and said she would not go to the dinner because she has meetings in D.C. Rep. Brad Finstad isn’t expected to attend the dinner either, and Emmer avoided the question about attendance when asked by the Minnesota Star Tribune last week.

“If these people truly have other commitments that they can’t get out, that is one thing,” Lewis said. “If they are boycotting the party’s largest fundraising dinner because they don’t like all of the factions associated with the party, I don’t think that’s leadership.”

Minnesota House Speaker Lisa Demuth and Minnesota Senate Minority Leader Mark Johnson also will not attend, as state legislators scramble to pass a budget before their May 19 adjournment deadline.

The conservative grassroots wing of the party believes Emmer and the delegation are trying to exert control over the Minnesota GOP.

“Emmer doesn’t want a MNGOP that’s accountable to its base,” Action 4 Liberty President Erik Mortensen said in a recent email to the Star Tribune. “Emmer prefers complete control over the MNGOP.”

Plechash invited individuals from Action 4 Liberty to attend Trump’s inauguration in January, in an apparent peace offering. But the inauguration invite didn’t stop Action 4 Liberty from attacking other Republicans.

In March, Minnesota GOP executive committee member Bobby Benson, who’s the state chief of staff for Emmer, brought forward a resolution to formally condemn Action 4 Liberty. When the state GOP’s executive committee passed Benson’s resolution, Plechash made a point to say he abstained from the vote.

Weeks later, Plechash struck a different tone. He said the party’s official position on Action 4 Liberty is reflected in the resolution, and that the party has a “strong relationship” with Minnesota’s GOP members of Congress and their staff.

Mortensen believes Emmer is behind the resolution that was brought forward by his state chief of staff. Emmer‘s office did not return requests to respond to Action 4 Liberty’s allegations.

Republicans aren’t the only ones who’ve taken note of the rift. Newly elected Minnesota DFL Chair Richard Carlbom says he has also observed the “Tom Emmer wing” versus “Alex Plechash wing” feud from afar.

“I think Tom Emmer wants to choke off all support,” Carlbom said. “As the whip in the House, he‘s got a lot of sway among donors in Minnesota, and that’s only going to hurt the Republican Party internally.”

The Minnesota GOP ended March with just over $40,000 in its federal campaign finance account. The Minnesota DFL Party had $2.7 million in its federal account as of March 31.

Emmer donated $257,000 to the Minnesota GOP last year, before Plechash took over. The congressman hasn’t given anything to the party this year, according to federal campaign finance reports.

Hann said Minnesota’s GOP Congress members bought tables at the annual Lincoln-Reagan fundraising dinner when he was chairman from late 2021-2024. “There were also direct contributions, certainly from Emmer and from Fischbach,” he said.

Last year, Action 4 Liberty rallied grassroots activists to oust Hann and block Fischbach from winning the party’s endorsement.

After party activists ousted him in favor of Plechash in December, Hann said Emmer and Fischbach expressed concern.

“The coalition that elected the new leadership was made up in large part of the people that have been very actively and fairly aggressively oppositional to Emmer and Fischbach,” Hann said.

Plechash said he respects the decision by some delegation members to not attend the party’s fundraiser. He said the party has “worked productively with members of our congressional delegation,” and noted that some of the congressmembers’ staffers will attend the Lincoln-Reagan dinner.

However, Republicans argue that attendance of the Monday evening dinner, or lack thereof, will speak for itself.

“I think attendance at the dinner is going to be very telling based on who shows up,” said Jake Coleman, a Minnesota Republican operative who heads Minnesota Americans for Prosperity. “It will speak volumes about the state of where the Minnesota Republican Party is.”

Nathaniel Minor of the Minnesota Star Tribune contributed to this story.