Explosive sleeper issue could fuel midterm shakeups, top Republican predicts: ‘You’re gonna see surprises’

House Majority Whip Tom Emmer, a Minnesota Republican, believes public anger over misuse of government money could upend expectations in his home state on Election Day, November 3. He told Fox News Digital that voters care more about honest government than about party labels, and that they want to know who will be held responsible when taxpayer dollars are stolen or sent abroad.

Emmer made the comments in Lewiston during the first leg of a planned tour through 56 districts nationwide, intended to energize supporters as Republicans try to protect a very narrow House majority against difficult historical and political conditions. He was joined by House candidate Paul LePage. The trip comes roughly a month before the vote.

In Minnesota, Emmer said, fraud ranks as the top concern. He called Governor Tim Walz incompetent and, in some cases, corrupt, and accused the state's attorney general of accepting campaign money from Somali fraudsters he was simultaneously trying to shield from detection. Emmer said people there want a system that serves ordinary residents rather than "the criminals." Fraud rose to national prominence late last year in Minnesota, and Walz ended his bid for another term as a result. Republicans running for Senate, governor, attorney general and auditor in the state have each made combating fraud central to their campaigns. Emmer voiced hope that this message will land, even though no Republican has won a statewide race in Minnesota since 2006.

Summarized by PolitiKool from Fox News’s reporting. Read the full story at Fox News →