Rich Stanek Rejected by Minnesota

MINNESOTA- Today, Alliance for a Better Minnesota released the following statement regarding Rich Stanek’s announcement that he will be dropping out of the Minnesota governor’s race:

“Within the first two days of his campaign for governor Rich Stanek was exposed for his decades-long track record of divisive, harmful behavior and for lying about it on television,” said Marissa Luna, executive director of Alliance for a Better Minnesota. “Minnesotans won’t stand for this behavior, they’ve rejected him before, and he knows they will reject him again. We need a governor who will bring Minnesotans together and move our state forward, and even Rich Stanek knows he is not up for the job.”

Stanek was forced to resign as Public Safety Commissioner under Governor Pawlenty’s administration when he was exposed for his use of the N-word.

During a court deposition in 2004 circulated by Alliance for a Better Minnesota, Stanek admitted to using racial slurs when asked under oath.

In February of 2022, in an interview on KSTP, Stanek denied his use of racial slurs, contradicting his statements under oath in 2004.