Minnesota State Auditor Julie Blaha tests positive for COVID

The first-term DFLer will miss the party's convention in Rochester to quarantine.

May 17, 2022 at 8:51PM
State Auditor Julie Blaha has tested positive for COVID-19. (Anthony Soufflé, Star Tribune file/The Minnesota Star Tribune)

Julie Blaha, Minnesota's first-term DFL state auditor, has tested positive for COVID-19.

She is experiencing mild symptoms and has started a five-day quarantine following guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control, according to a tweet from her office on Tuesday.

Blaha, who is running for a second term this fall, will have to miss the state DFL Party's endorsing convention in Rochester on Saturday. She is not facing a challenger within her own party. Republicans endorsed attorney Ryan Wilson to challenge Blaha at their state convention last weekend.

COVID cases are on the rise in Minnesota as the fast-spreading BA.2.12.1 variant of the virus continues to surge through the population, but hospitals are reporting mostly mild infections.

Minnesota DFL House Speaker Melissa Hortman also recently tested positive for COVID-19 and went into isolation. Gov. Tim Walz tested positive for the virus late last year.

about the writer

about the writer

Briana Bierschbach

Reporter

Briana Bierschbach is a politics and government reporter for the Star Tribune.

See More

More from Politics

card image

Our mission this election cycle is to provide the facts and context you need. Here’s how we’ll do that.