Minnesota attorney general hopeful: 'We're going to retire Keith Ellison from politics'

ST. CLOUD — Doug Wardlow was optimistic at a campaign stop in St. Cloud Saturday morning.

After a short rally in St. Joseph, the GOP candidate for attorney general spoke to a crowd of about 30 at the St. Cloud GOP office.

Wardlow said it appears the campaign of his DFL opponent, U.S. Rep. Keith Ellison, D-Minn., is "panicking," because of recent attacks against Wardlow's campaign.  

"In 17 days, we are going to retire Keith Ellison from politics," Wardlow said.  

READ: Keith Ellison talks worker's rights, healthcare and Trump in St. Cloud stop

Wardlow said the polls are showing the candidates as neck in neck.

"It's very difficult to say the polls are accurate. I think if anything, if the poll shows us tied, we're probably up 3 or 4 points," he said.

Enforcing the 'rule of law'

Wardlow repeated his campaign trail refrain, saying he wants to restore the "rule of law, the Constitution and liberty" to the attorney general's office. 

"The attorney general is supposed to be there to enforce the law, not to push a political agenda," Wardlow said. "It doesn't get more political than Keith Ellison." 

He emphasized the need to get the office out of Democratic hands after nearly 48 years. 

"For half a century, Democrats have been using this office to push their big government agenda," Wardlow said. "They basically turned the attorney general's office into the heart of their political machine."

As part of Wardlow's "Minnesota First" policy, he said he would focus on enforcing state law, not suing the federal government. 

A native of Eagan, Wardlow said that he's the perfect guy to take politics out of the office. 

"I have always zealously represented clients throughout my legal career, regardless of agreeing or not agreeing with them, politically speaking," Wardlow said. "I'm going to take that same ethic of zealous advocacy to the Office of Attorney General."

READ: GOP pick for attorney general hones in on Central Minnesota

For the last three years, Wardlow has worked for the Alliance Defending Freedom, a Christian nonprofit organization known for representing Masterpiece Cakeshop and a Colorado baker who refused to make a wedding cake for a gay couple. 

Wardlow attended Georgetown Law School in Washington D.C. and clerked for the Minnesota Supreme Court. He served one term in the Minnesota House of Representatives, starting in 2011. 

Wardlow said that if elected, he would make sure deputy and assistant attorneys general were people "we can trust to stand up for the rule of law." 

"There will be no litmus test for party affiliation," Wardlow said, adding that there are "probably a good number of Democrats" in the office who can put the rule of law above politics. 

What Wardlow plans to do

Wardlow said he will have a lot of work to do if elected. 

He said he would focus resources on combating welfare fraud, rebuilding the office's criminal law division and becoming a leader in stopping human trafficking. 

Wardlow named some priorities Saturday that appear among the issues Ellison says he will fight for on his website.

That includes including enforcing consumer fraud laws, stopping elder abuse and making sure anti-competition laws are enforced. Ellison also lists combating sex trafficking in Minnesota as a top priority. 

One place the two candidates differ greatly is on immigration. Wardlow said he opposes sanctuary cities. 

"As attorney general, I'm going to do everything I can to persuade cities to cooperate with federal authorities, and make clear that federal immigration authorities are welcome in Minnesota," he said. 

Wardlow said that if elected, he would investigate claims of fraud, including issues that are often seen as more partisan, such as voter fraud.

"It's important that we make sure the county attorneys have the resources that they need to investigate cases of illegal voting," Wardlow said. 

Scholarly research over the years has consistently found intentional voter fraud to be rare in the U.S. 

READ: U.S. Rep. Ellison tells St. Cloud why he wants to be the state's top lawyer

He also said he would further investigate claims of fraud in some Somali day cares in Minnesota.

"I'm absolutely going to be following up on that, and hopefully lining up cases for prosecution," Wardlow said.

The religious factor

Wardlow visited St. Cloud just days after his campaign was condemned by a group of Minnesota faith leaders, saying campaign materials were Islamophobic and intended to spread fear.

Wardlow's fundraising mailers call Ellison "one of the most dangerous men in America" and claim he "pals around with radical Islamic groups and defends known terrorists."

The religious leaders said Wardlow should renounce the comments in the mailers and return any money he raised through them.

Wardlow repeated Saturday that people should be concerned with Ellison's connection to Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan, who has a history of anti-Semitic and homophobic remarks. Ellison participated in the group's 1995 "Million Man March." He has since disavowed Farrakhan.

On Saturday, in response to an audience question about whether Ellison is "for Sharia law," Wardlow said, "I have not heard him say anything about it. But the fact is there are so many reasons to be concerned about Keith Ellison." 

Wardlow left St. Cloud midday to return home to prepare for Sunday's debate, hosted by KSTP. 

"We are going to have a spirited debate, I'm sure," Wardlow said. "Make sure you watch. It's going to be good. We're going to call Ellison to account and make sure that the people of Minnesota know the truth about Keith Ellison." 

Get informed

KSTP is hosing a day of debates Sunday, including televised debates between U.S. Senate and Minnesota gubernatorial candidates, as well as candidates for attorney general. 

It will be broadcast live throughout Minnesota 7-10 p.m., locally on KSTP channel 5, without commercial interruption. The entire debate will be streamed live on KSTP.com.

You can also watch debates from all Minnesota districts for the U.S. House of Representatives from 1:30-5 p.m. on KSTP or on KSTP.com. 

The Associated Press contributed to this story.