A Minnesota House Republican Campaign Committee (HRCC) field staff member who misrepresented himself as a Hill City Democrat in a letter to the editor in Wednesday’s Brainerd Dispatch is no longer employed by the committee.
Stephen Sundquist, a field staff employee who door-knocked and did literature drops for Dale Lueck’s House 10B campaign ceased working for the committee Thursday and is not affiliated with any House Republican campaigns, Jodi Boyne, director of public affairs for the House Republican Caucus, said. Boyne was speaking on behalf of the HRCC.
Phone messages were left for Sundquist at two locations but he could not be reached for comment Thursday.
House 10B includes Aitkin County and eastern Crow Wing County.
Sundquist’s letter to the editor was published in both the Dispatch and the Aitkin Independent Age. In the letter he inferred he voted for DFL candidate Joe Radinovich of Crosby but was dismayed by the Democrat’s public statements and intended to write-in the name of former Aitkin County DFL Chair David Strand.
“I’m pretty well known over here,” Strand said Thursday. After initially thinking the letter was humorous, he became curious as to who the letter writer was and concerned that in a close race even a few votes for him could hurt Radinovich.
“All the people who read this letter have been badly misinformed and misled by this person,” Strand said.
This morning Minnesota DFL Party Chair Ken Martin filed a complaint charging a violation of the Fair Campaign Practices Act with the Office of Administrative Hearings, citing a Minnesota statute dealing with false letters to the editor.
The DFL news release cited campaign finance reports that indicated Sundquist has been employed by the HRCC since May of 2012.
“The letter was clearly an attempt to benefit Dale Lueck’s campaign, and this kind of unethical campaign behavior is unacceptable in Minnesota,” Martin said in a statement.
Lueck said Sundquist had door-knocked and done literature drops for his campaign. He described him as one of a group of “young GOP, hard-charging, young conservative guys.”
When he was contacted Thursday afternoon he said he didn’t know if Sundquist was the same person who wrote the letter. Lueck also said he had no knowledge of the letter.
Radinovich said he was not surprised by the misrepresentation.
“Throughout the course of the campaign people supporting my opponent have been misrepresenting my issues,” he said. “I think there are more important things than winning a Minnesota House campaign. I’m happy I kept my campaign above board.”
In a letter sent to the Brainerd Dispatch Thursday two GOP House members criticized Sundquist, identifying him only as a former employee. The letter criticizing the misrepresentation in Sundquist’s letter was written by Rep. Jen Loon, chair of the HRCC Steering Committee, and Rep. Matt Dean, House majority leader. Their letter stated:
“The House Republican Campaign Committee has learned that an employee submitted a letter to the editor to the Brainerd Daily Dispatch misrepresenting himself. We do not condone this action nor do we support this type of campaign tactic. The employee is no longer employed by the House Republican Campaign Committee and is not affiliated with any House Republican campaign.”
MIKE O’ROURKE, associate editor, may be reached at 855-5860 or mike.orourke@brainerddispatch.com. He may be followed at www.twitter.com/MikeORourkenews.
Comments (34)
Add commentNice try Lueck,
but really pretty dumb. You must be desperate.
big surprise
If anyone is surprised about this, their heads are in the sand. Republicans are committing voter fraud and voter intimidation nation-wide, making up fables of voter fraud that don't exist.
Whenwill Sundquist's fraudulent letter be removed from this
site?
Regardless of ideology or party affiliation
it looks like this is damaging the Repubbies more than the DFL.
If you actually speak to Joe, he is rather conservative in the classical sense (something that is fading away in "conservative" circles). Take, for example, his refusal to "play the game"
Even if one questions Joe's ideology-driven positions, one must acknowledge that keeping it clean and honest is more than a breath of fresh air...its almost the answer to prayer. Count one more vote, Joe.
I'm not sure how a candidate
I'm not sure how a candidate who favors abortion and normalizing sodomy (Mr. Radinovich) can be considered conservative in any sort of classical sense.
flight question for you
Do you suppose voter fraud happens across party lines?
Voter fraud isnt just a partisan issue...is a national security issue, a constitutional issue and a moral issue.
I just read that you need 2 forms of ID to register to vote in this state...but from my personal experience, once registered, you do not need anything. Glad to know some [filtered word] can go vote for me.
Yes
and when you go in to vote IDWD, you won't be able to because it shows you already voted. No double voting there. Get it?
If I walk in and sign your name on the book, vote and walk out.
You walk in and tell them your name, they say 'you already voted' and you have to walk out.
Thanks, Flight.
There's a good article here about "True the Vote" and their pathetic efforts to indimidate voters at the polls. So sad that we don't do everything we can in America to encourage voter participation. Instead, MN embarrassingly joins the ALEC-pack states in this voter suppression amendment nonsense.
http://www.thenation.com/blog/170698/true-army-responds-true-vote-threats
Same dude
This was the same GOP House staffer who asked three DFL people to leave at an event which in the paper was advertised as an Open Tax Forum in Deerwood which was really a Lueck fundraiser in disguise. The individuals were video taping the presentation by Rep. Davids and this staffer came up and said "You must pay $20.00 if you want to stay. It would make my job a lot easier." He was right there working as Dale Lueck's right hand man. This is Stephen Sundquist.
Democrats just beat up people
Not good to do this, but it is better than in Wisconsin where
2 Republicans have been beaten up by Democrats and had to be taken to the hospital for treatment.
Two separate incidents - the first one is the son of a Republican state senator or House guy and ask 2 thugs to not take his sign off his property. They beat him up and he is is the hospital.
The second guy is a gay Republican worker who is working to elect a Republican who is running against a gay Democrat.
Two thugs knocked on his door, called him slurs, turncoat, and all the rest of bullying names and then beat him up and he also is in the hospital.
This letter writing situation is just plain stupid.
Beating up people is criminal.
Purposed
Thanks, Sundquist is the name.
A republican't commits fraud...
A republican't commits fraud and this is newsworthy WHY?
republican'ts commit fraud all the time!!!
Flight
"Republicans are committing voter fraud and voter intimidation nation-wide, making up fables of voter fraud that don't exist."
Let me see if I have this straight. Republicans make up fables about the existance of voter fraud that doesn't exist.....while at the same time committing voter fraud.
Republicans get beat up in Wisc.
Two Republicans in separate incidents in Wisc. get beat up and hospitilized by Democrat thugs. Thanks for the thumbs down on that one -- that says something..
I repeat that this letter writing is wrong, stupid, and no one should tolerate it
Beating up people is criminal.
Purposed
I can't exactly remember why I picked that name, to be honest. But you are right. It's not too difficult.
I know I should try to be nicer but it's so sporting. ;)
Thankfully, you and sadie balance it all out.
Voter ID
will not cure any examples of the current voter fraud going on. It cures voter impersonation which does not exist in Minnesota.
All of the fraud going on now is voter intimidation, blatantly false billboards, tossing out completed voter registration forms, limiting voter hours, sending out false voting information and fraud like Sundquist.
Wow. Interesting. I'm glad
Wow. Interesting. I'm glad they printed this for those who don't read the comments and maybe wouldn't have known otherwise. It's dirty pool. I don't hold Lueck accountable as there isn't any proof that he knew about it or directed someone to act this way, but it certainly doesn't speak well for his campaign workers. What other "tricks" have they played and not gotten caught at?
"They" created more votes
in a St.louis County precinct than there are registered voters for one thing. Ooops, that wasn't the Republicans as those were Democrat votes for Al Frankin. Oh well it was a trick, I guess.
Do you just spout nonsense
or can you cite proof? You do a lot of accusing, but I never see any references, ms fairandbalanced.
Kiffmayer, the name behind Voter ID,
has a less than honorable history in the state.
"State Representative Mary Kiffmeyer (R–Big Lake) is the former executive director of Minnesota Majority, the sole advisory board member of Minnesota Voters Alliance, and a staunch advocate of voter ID legislation.
Kiffmeyer served a controversial term as secretary of state from 2000 to 2006, during which time she removed the Independence Party from the ballot, blocked the use of tribal government IDs for voter registration, and deemed some college students could not register to vote because they had inadequate proof of residency.
In 2004, she distributed fliers warning voters to watch for "homicide bombers," who may wear baggy clothes, have a "shaved head or short hair," and "smell of unusual herbal/flower water or perfume."
In 2009, Kiffmeyer testified before the House that it would be too expensive to produce electronic data on felons in order to reliably identify ineligible voters. Yet these groups continue to press for ID laws, which would not prevent felons from voting since government–issued ID doesn’t generally include a criminal history."
.
Hurting Candidates
I don't believe that Lueck had anything to do with this any more than I believe Rick Nolan was behind all the ruckus Sat night against Chip Cravaak. With just a few days left to go people get impassioned about their candidates and do goofy things, and actually end up doing damage to a candidates campaign without the candidates ever being involved. Let's all take a breath, it is going to be a long few days
I look forward to reading the
I look forward to reading the honorable history of Mark Soros Ritchie. Should be interesting at best.
I read today that felons do vote when they shouldn't in this country.
Just for you southie,
From the Wall Street journal: "This helps explain why more than 25 precincts now have more ballots than voters who signed in to vote. By some estimates this double counting has yielded Mr. Franken an additional 80 to 100 votes.
This disenfranchises Minnesotans whose vote counted only once. And one Canvassing Board member, State Supreme Court Justice G. Barry Anderson, has acknowledged that "very likely there was a double counting." Yet the board insists that it lacks the authority to question local officials and it is merely adding the inflated numbers to the totals."
Look it up yourself.
Sundquist
Unfortunately, Sundquist has fled. Until he is interviewed we will never know who knew what and when. All I can say is, the left hand does not know what the right hand is doing. Or do they? I suspect they do. You can fool some of the people some of the time but not all the people all of the time.
southie,
where'd you go? I sent proof. You spout nonsense!
Obama name etched in car
Now in CA 3 cars had the name Obama etched in them thanks to Obama supporters. The cars were parked in
front of two houses with Romney signs.
The seats were slashed in one an GPS stolen.
The car that was ruined the worst was someone who was
visiting one of the houses that had the sign -- the visitors
are Obama supporters with no jobs. You'd think this might
change their mind if their unemployment doesn't .. no, they are sticking with their guy.
This is voter intimidation as well as the thugs beating up
the two guys in WI.
Now in Colo.
CBS Denver
Jefferson County Colorado Democrat Party awards "The Democrat of the year" to a woman that was convicted recently of felony theft for stealing from a partially blind developmentally disabled
71 year old.
They still gave her the honor for registering voters as that is
the most important accomplishment. Who cares if she steals
from the disabled woman.
"ruckus" at arboretum
sverre, the only ruckus at the Arboretum meeting was caused by Republican guests who manhandled a tracker doing exactly what trackers from both parties do. Grady paid by the Republicans is at every event Rick Nolan attends, and Nolan is always pleasant to him.
Mike O'Rourke's blog today.
Mike has some good quotes from Lueck today:
“These whiz kids that come up here and drop lit (campaign literature) and help — if that was one of them — for goodness sakes we don’t need that kind of help up here in our part of Minnesota.”
As of Thursday afternoon, the staffer, Stephen Sundquist, was no longer working for the HRCC or for any House campaigns, Earlier Thursday, Minnesota DFL Chair Ken Martin had filed a complaint against Sundquist, charging a violation of the Fair Campaign Practices Act according to Jodi Boyne, a committee spokesperson.
“He’s one of the...what I call one of the whiz kids,” Lueck said of Sundquist. This individual thought he was a Karl Rove or some kind of super operative.”
Mike O'Rourke's blog today.
It is on the front page.