Prominent state Democrats fail to win endorsements at local conventions

Two prominent Minnesota Democrats failed to win the DFL endorsement for their legislative campaigns this weekend.

Ryan Winkler, a former majority leader of the Minnesota House of Representatives, lost his bid to win the DFL endorsement for House District 43B. Winkler, who previously served two stints in the House, lost the endorsement to Jess Lewis, a former USAID employee.

“I am deeply grateful to everyone for the love and support shown at yesterday’s SD43 convention,” Winkler said in a statement. “Although the outcome wasn’t in my favor, I am proud of the campaign we ran.”

Alpha News contacted Winkler’s campaign to ask if he will run in the August primary or if he is ending his campaign. The campaign did not immediately respond to a media inquiry.

Meanwhile, DFL State Sen. Ron Latz failed to win the DFL endorsement for his St. Louis Park-area seat in the Minnesota Senate. Latz is a senior member of the Senate DFL Caucus and the current chair of the Senate Judiciary and Public Safety Committee.

Latz is facing a primary challenge from Lynette Dumalag, a former St. Louis Park City Council member. Dumalag is endorsed by Rep. Larry Kraft, a DFLer who represents half of Latz’s Senate district in the state House.

Sunday’s endorsement battle between Latz and Dumalag ended in no endorsement after just one ballot. As such, the two candidates are set to square off in the August primary.

“Thank you to everyone who participated in the Senate District 46 DFL convention today!” Dumalag said after her endorsement win. “It was a fantastic turnout, and we are thrilled with the outcome.”

“When the delegates voted, we had a nearly exact tie — an incredible accomplishment against a 20-year incumbent!” Dumalag added. “Our campaigns agreed to end it after one ballot with no endorsement, and we will continue on to the primary in August.”

Latz has served in the Minnesota Legislature since 2003. He is a high-profile member of Minnesota’s Jewish community. Dumalag is the daughter of Filipino immigrants and has a career in commercial real estate.

Wiener wins GOP endorsement in northern Minnesota Senate district

In a shocking development, Republican State Rep. Mike Wiener won the GOP endorsement for Senate District 5 over incumbent Republican State Sen. Paul Utke. Wiener has served in the House since 2023, and Utke has served in the Senate since 2017.

Earlier this year, Wiener was part of a collection of Republican state legislators who filed articles of impeachment against DFL Gov. Tim Walz. Those articles accuse Walz of failing to stop the fraud epidemic that has engulfed Minnesota in recent years.

Additionally, Weiner is a founding member of the newly-created Freedom Caucus in the Minnesota Legislature. The group was established in February of this year and has seven members across both the House and Senate.

The Freedom Caucus is a sub-group within the existing GOP legislative caucuses. One of its members described the group as “a unified bloc of principled conservatives … who refuse to compromise on the core values that built this great state.”

Utke is not a member of the Freedom Caucus.

Alpha News contacted Wiener and Utke for this story but did not immediately hear back.

Luke Sprinkel

Luke Sprinkel previously worked as a Legislative Assistant at the Minnesota House of Representatives. He grew up as a Missionary Kid (MK) living in England, Thailand, Tanzania, and the Middle East. Luke graduated from Regent University in 2018.