Doug Wardlow

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On August 14, 2018, Wardlow won the Republican primary for Attorney General of Minnesota. He faced Democratic U.S. Rep. Keith Ellison. [13] Grassroots–Legalize Cannabis Party candidate Noah Dilly Johnson had endorsed Ellison, but remained on the general election ballot. [14] Wardlow had previously been endorsed by the Republican Party at its June 2, 2018, state convention. [15] Wardlow lost the election to Ellison by a 49–45% margin. [16]

During his campaign, Wardlow said he would enforce same-sex marriage laws; [3] however, Wardlow previously opposed gay marriage [17] and the Obergefell v. Hodges decision, [18] which he described in 2015 as a "tyrannical impulse". [19] Wardlow has stated that he would not join other Republican attorney generals who sued to overturn the Affordable Care Act. [3] During his campaign for Minnesota Attorney General, Wardlow stated the office is not a "policymaking position" and would refrain from anything "legislative in scope." [3]

Wardlow stated that, if elected, he would "fire 42 Democratic attorneys right off the bat" from the Attorney General's Office, leading to concern that he might politicize the office and make hiring decisions based on political loyalty rather than merit. [20]

Controversy arose around Wardlow during the 2018 campaign. Former Minnesota Supreme Court Justice Paul Anderson remarked, after learning that Wardlow had maintained a politically conservative legal blog during his time as a law clerk, that "I found the conduct of Mr. Wardlow so egregious, so undermining of the ethics and the standards we have on the court I thought he should have been terminated immediately." [21] He initially promised to keep the attorney general's office apolitical, but received backlash after a tape caught his remarks saying, “We’re going to fire 42 Democratic attorneys right off the bat and get Republican attorneys in there." [22]

In addition, a high school classmate of Wardlow's, Ryan Durant, accused Wardlow of anti-gay bullying during high school, also claiming that Wardlow had mocked him after Durant returned to school following a suicide attempt. [23]

Wardlow admitted to committing campaign finance violations in the 2018. He was fined $46,000. Wardlow agreed to pay this amount to the Minnesota Campaign Finance and Public Disclosure Board as a fine. Wardlow was supposed to spend $864,072 during the race. However, over two years, his campaign committee spent $910,490. [24]

MyPillow and Mike Lindell

In 2020, Wardlow joined MyPillow as Mike Lindell's General Counsel, overseeing legal aspects of the company. [25] Wardlow remained part of Lindell's legal counsel during Lindell's attempt to overturn the 2020 election, when both Lindell's personal and corporate accounts were permanently banned from Twitter. [26] Wardlow also served on Lindell's legal team to advise Lindell about a possible run for Governor of Minnesota. The legal team was tasked with recommending marketing changes needed to make him a viable political candidate. [27]

2022 Minnesota Attorney General election

Wardlow announced his running for Minnesota Attorney General in February 2021, and will seek GOP nomination. [28] He is seeking a rematch with Attorney General Keith Ellison in the statewide election.

Wardlow came under criticism over statements made following the killing of Daunte Wright by police in Brooklyn Center, Minnesota. [29] Wardlow was a guest of conservative talk show host Joe Pags, when he stated that Daunte Wright "might still be alive if we didn't have so much pressure against the police." [29] In the interview, Wardlow and Pags both attributed some recent police killings to victims' failure to comply with officers, something Wardlow said was the result of "a false narrative that's being spread and perpetuated by folks like Keith Ellison and Rashida Tlaib and Ilhan Omar." The narrative, Wardlow said, makes people believe "police hate people of a certain race" and that there's "systemic racism" in police departments, both of which he said are "completely untrue." He also stated that because of public pressure, "the morale of police is so low, it makes it more likely for them to make mistakes and for accidents like this to happen." [29] The Minnesota DFL Party stated that his comments were "beyond insulting", calling him "not fit to serve Minnesotans." [29]

Personal life

Wardlow with wife Jenny in 2008. Wardlow and wife Jenny circa 2008.jpg
Wardlow with wife Jenny in 2008.

Wardlow and his family have long been active in government and politics. While attending Georgetown University, he volunteered at the offices of U.S. Representatives John Kline and Gil Gutknecht, and also worked as a volunteer legal research clerk for U.S. Senator Chuck Grassley. His father, Lynn Wardlow, also served as a Minnesota State Representative for the same district from 2003 to 2009. [1] [2] [30] Wardlow resides in Prior Lake, Minnesota with his wife Jenny and three children. [31]

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References

  1. 1 2 3 "Wardlow, Douglas "Doug" - Legislator Record - Minnesota Legislators Past & Present". www.leg.state.mn.us.
  2. 1 2 "Parker Rosen LLC | Commercial Litigation Attorneys | Minneapolis Commercial Litigation Attorneys". Archived from the original on July 15, 2011. Retrieved January 25, 2011.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Van Berkel, Jessie. "Doug Wardlow says he'll set aside partisan past if elected attorney general". Minneapolis Star Tribune. Retrieved October 27, 2018.
  4. ↑ "Parker / Rosen". www.parkerrosen.com. Retrieved December 10, 2017.
  5. ↑ "Wardlow, Douglas "Doug" - Legislator Record - Minnesota Legislators Past & Present". www.house.leg.state.mn.us.
  6. ↑ "2012 Election Results". Archived from the original on August 18, 2012. Retrieved May 3, 2013.
  7. ↑ "Douglas G. Wardlow - a Scottsdale, Arizona (AZ) Business & Commercial Law Lawyer". pview.findlaw.com. Retrieved December 10, 2017.
  8. ↑ Alliance Defending Freedom Through The Years. Southern Poverty Law Center, 2017.
  9. ↑ "ADF warns school districts: Minnesota Dept. of Education guidelines violate student privacy rights - Alliance Defending Freedom". www.adfmedia.org. Retrieved October 28, 2018.
  10. ↑ Federal court upholds firing of transgender funeral director. Detroit Free Press, August 18, 2016.
  11. ↑ "Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. R.G. & G.R. Harris Funeral Homes, Inc" (PDF). Retrieved June 26, 2024.
  12. ↑ Harris, Kyle (June 26, 2015). "Marriage equality is a 'tyrannical impulse,' says Alliance Defending Freedom lawyer". The Colorado Independent. Retrieved February 23, 2021.
  13. ↑ "Statewide Results for Attorney General". Minnesota Secretary of State . Retrieved August 19, 2018.
  14. ↑ Van Berkel, Jessie (October 15, 2018). "Legalize Cannabis candidate endorses Keith Ellison for attorney general". Star Tribune . Retrieved October 19, 2018.
  15. ↑ Van Berkel, Jessie; Rao, Maya (June 2, 2018). "DFL endorses Pelikan for AG after Swanson drops bid for party nod". Star Tribune . Retrieved June 2, 2018.
  16. ↑ 2018 Minnesota midterm election results.
  17. ↑ "Faith leaders denounce Wardlow mailers attacking Keith Ellison". Star Tribune. Retrieved October 19, 2018.
  18. ↑ Supreme Court disavows truth about marriage, pits faith against law. Fox News. Doug Wardlow, June 26, 2015.
  19. ↑ Marriage equality is a ‘tyrannical impulse,’ says Alliance Defending Freedom lawyer. Colorado Independent. Kyle Harris, June 26, 2015.
  20. ↑ Wardlow says he'd fire Democrats in Minnesota AG's office Archived October 13, 2018, at the Wayback Machine . Minneapolis Star-Tribune , October 12, 2018.
  21. ↑ "Minnesota attorney general race attacks continue as campaign counts down to finish". Star Tribune. Retrieved December 30, 2019.
  22. ↑ Pugmire, Tim (October 12, 2018). "GOP AG candidate Wardlow vows to fire DFL attorneys". MPR.
  23. ↑ "Doug Wardlow, LGBT rights and the gay man he allegedly bullied in high school". Twin Cities. October 27, 2018. Retrieved December 30, 2019.
  24. ↑ "Doug Wardlow fined $46K for excess expenditures in attorney general run". Star Tribune. Retrieved December 30, 2019.
  25. ↑ Torgerud, Judah (April 10, 2020). "Doug Wardlow, Mike Lindell's Legal Council, Endorses 'Outsider' Conservative's Bid For Congress". alphanews. Retrieved February 23, 2021.
  26. ↑ Pesce, Nicole Lyn (February 2, 2021). "Twitter has permanently banned the corporate MyPillow account after founder Mike Lindell posted from it". Market Watch. Retrieved February 23, 2021.
  27. ↑ Montemayor, Stephen (January 23, 2021). "MyPillow inventor open to speculation about 2022 bid for Minnesota governor". Star Tribune. Retrieved February 23, 2021.
  28. ↑ Condon, Patrick (February 17, 2021). "Republican Doug Wardlow makes second bid for attorney general" . Retrieved April 19, 2021.
  29. 1 2 3 4 Desmond, Declan (April 17, 2021). "GOP candidate: Daunte Wright killing was result of low police morale" . Retrieved April 19, 2021.
  30. ↑ "Wardlow, Lynn - Legislator Record - Minnesota Legislators Past & Present". www.leg.state.mn.us.
  31. ↑ "GOP pick for attorney general hones in on Central Minnesota".
Doug Wardlow
Portrait of Douglas Wardlow (4770605382).jpg
Member of the MinnesotaHouseofRepresentatives
from the 38B district
In office
January 4, 2011 –January 7, 2013
Party political offices
Preceded by Republican nominee for
Attorney General of Minnesota
2018 		Succeeded by
Jim Schultz
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