Nine months later, the resignation of the Minnesota Republican Party’s embattled chair, Jennifer Carnahan, on Thursday night marked a new low for a state party in decline.
The proximate cause of Carnahan’s departure was a firestorm that engulfed the party in recent days after a GOP donor she was close to, Anton “Tony” Lazzaro, was indicted on federal sex trafficking charges. A pile-on ensued, with Carnahan, the wife of Republican U.S.Rep. Jim Hagedorn, accused by party officials and former staffers of running a toxic, retaliatory workplace, mismanaging party finances, and, through the use of non-disclosure agreements, squashing transparency.
