A trio of judicial candidates who were backed by the Republican Party of Minnesota and tea party groups was defeated at the polls on Tuesday. Supreme Court candidates Greg Wersal and Tim Tingelstad were projected to lose by more than 20 points, and Appeals Court candidate Dan Griffith appeared to lose his challenge by about 4 points.
Three statewide candidates are bucking longstanding tradition in the lead-up to Tuesday’s election: Judicial candidates Dan Griffith (pictured), Tim Tingelstad and Greg Wersal are openly weighing in on issues that could come before them if elected, and all three have endorsements by major political parties. Coming from tea party backgrounds, they have aligned themselves with the Republican Party, the Minnesota Family Council and, in one case, the Constitution Party of Minnesota, and fitting the conservative bent of those groups, the trio has opined about contentious social issues from abortion and homosexuality to the role of Christianity in schools and courtrooms. While these activities are legal, critics say that they could undermine the impartiality and nonpartisan nature of the judiciary.
While candidates hash it out for the executive and legislative branches every four years, little attention is paid to the election of judges in Minnesota. Dan Griffith is running for the Minnesota Court of Appeals seat currently held by Judge Terri J. Stoneburner, and because positions and party affiliations are not part of the campaign process for judicial candidates, most voters don’t know that Griffith is a right-wing evangelical Christian who would make rulings based on his faith.
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