Union leaders enlisted by U.S. Rep. Keith Ellison said Thursday that they are under attack at the national level and need the state's next attorney general to fight for Minnesota workers.
A group of union members reiterated their support for Ellison's bid in a news conference at the AFL-CIO headquarters in St. Paul. They criticized his Republican opponent, Doug Wardlow, saying he was a foe of working Minnesotans during his one term in the Minnesota House.
"We have got to make sure that in our state we have an attorney general who will stand up for workers," Ellison said at the news conference.
Wardlow responded with a statement calling Ellison a "radical Washington politician" and saying Ellison wants to talk about anything other than his former girlfriend's allegation that he abused her in 2016. Ellison denies the allegation, and an investigation commissioned by the Minnesota DFL Party did not substantiate it.
"Here is the truth, as Attorney General, I will protect and defend all Minnesotans. I will be an independent voice, beholden to no political party," Wardlow's statement said.
Union members said they continue to stand by Ellison after the abuse allegation; in recent days, he has returned to an active campaign-trail schedule. With unions ranging from pipe fitters to letter carriers endorsing him, Ellison is pitching himself as the workers' candidate and telling voters he would fight to make sure unions remain strong in Minnesota.
He noted Wardlow's push for right-to-work legislation during his 2011-2012 term in the Minnesota House. Wardlow was chief author of a bill to add a ballot measure to change the state's constitution so individuals would be guaranteed an option not to join or pay dues to a labor union. DFLers and Republican leadership did not get behind the attempt, and it failed to progress.
Wardlow said in an interview last month that if elected he would not use the attorney general's office to address right-to-work legislation.