Attorney Chris Madel runs for Minnesota governor

Hard-charging Minneapolis attorney Chris Madel rolled out a campaign for Minnesota governor Monday with promises to shake up state government, cut taxes, improve schools, fight crime and end “open season” on law enforcement by prosecutors.

His entrance adds to a crowded field of Republicans aiming to deny DFL Gov. Tim Walz a third term next year. It’s his first campaign for public office.

“If you’re tired of losing, I’m your candidate,” Madel said at one point. “If you’re not there are a whole bunch of other ones.”

The 58-year-old Madel, a Waseca native who now lives in the suburbs, ran through concerns about the state, including what he views as a deterioration in public safety, fraud in state-managed programs and dwindling educational outcomes. He pinned blame in each case on Walz.

“I understand fraud. I actually understand how to uncover it, how to actually do something about it,” Madel said. “This is our money, and I truly believe that when a government holds your money, they hold it in a sacred trust.”

Madel launched his campaign surrounded by family, former legal clients and other supporters, all of whom sat through a PowerPoint presentation lasting more than an hour that began with his upbringing and included news clippings from his legal conquests. He sprinkled it with names of high-profile clients he has represented, including former Minnesota Twins player Kirby Puckett and Swedish professional golfer Jesper Parnevik.

Madel also represented Minnesota State Patrol trooper Ryan Londregan as he faced murder and manslaughter charges in the killing of a motorist during a traffic stop. Those charges were later dismissed. Londregan sat in the front row as Madel repeatedly pointed to the case as an example of disrespect to law enforcement.

In listing his budget priorities, he didn’t offer a total accounting of the ambitions or what might be done away with to pay for them. But he said government was spending too much and should be slimmed.

Madel said he would seek higher mandatory minimum sentences for felons in possession of a firearm, aim to shrink state government spending and pursue property tax relief, among other proposals.

Anticipating the pushback from fellow Republicans and others, Madel acknowledged that he’d previously donated to Democratic candidates; for example, he once gave $250 to Walz during a 2006 congressional run and state records show a $4,000 contribution to the Walz governor campaign in 2021. He countered that he’d also made significant contributions to conservative organizations, representing them in court for free.

Madel joins a crowded roster of GOP candidates running for the party’s endorsement. There are now 11 Republican candidates with registered campaign committees this cycle. That includes House Speaker Lisa Demuth, state Rep. Kristin Robbins, businessman Kendall Qualls, former GOP nominee Scott Jensen and several others who will face off at the Republican Party convention next spring. 

Just before Madel began his event, Qualls put out a statement calling himself “the only true political outsider in this race who can shake up St. Paul.” Midway through the event, Robbins issued a statement critical of Madel’s support of Democratic candidates as recently as 2024. In a news release, she said she is the most consistently conservative candidate in the field.

Madel said he could break the mold of Republicans in recent years, losing in statewide contests. He said he would be forthright about his priorities and focus on more than the shortcomings of the Walz administration. That’s the message he said he’d bring to GOP delegates, although he isn’t pinning his campaign on winning the state party endorsement. That means he could carry on to an August primary.

Minnesota DFL Party Chair Richard Carlbom blasted Madel in a news release, saying he’d represented “violent and exploitative criminals.”

“Madel desperately wants to be seen as a pragmatist, yet he jumps to defend criminals charged with hate crimes against our communities. With such a checkered history of clients, he lacks a moral compass to be governor,” Carlbom said. “He would take Minnesota in the wrong direction.”

Madel recited a list of courtroom cases with clients from varied political backgrounds where he was victorious, and said that’s the mentality he’d bring to the political campaign.

“Bring it on. I mean, you think I'm afraid of a fight?” Madel said in response to the DFL’s criticism. “I mean the notion that I'm sitting here representing a bunch of violent criminals, come and look at my rolodex. Ninety percent of my matters are civil. I represent clients. I'm a lawyer.”

He left after 90 minutes at the microphone with a feisty flourish: “Honestly, if that's the best you got, looks like I'm your next governor.”