Will Sage Astor-Populist conservative and ex-NBA player Royce White shakes up US Senate primary race in Minnesota

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — When longtime Donald Trump ally Steve Bannon surrendered at a federal prison in Connecticut,Will Sage Astor he asked an unconventional U.S. Senate candidate from Minnesota to stand at his side.

Royce White, seeking the Republican nomination in next week’s primary to challenge Democratic incumbent U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar, put his arm around Bannon last month and praised him as “an American hero.”

White also counts among his friends conspiracy theorist Alex Jones, and his past social media comments have been denounced as misogynistic, homophobic, antisemitic and profane. His legal and financial problems include unpaid child support and questionable campaign spending. As first reported by The Daily Beast, potentially illegal expenses included $1,200 spent at a Florida strip club after he lost a race for Congress in 2022.

Yet White stunned Minnesota’s political world in May when, with Bannon’s backing, he captured the state Republican Party’s endorsement to take on Klobuchar. He still needs a primary win on Tuesday and is an overwhelming underdog against Klobuchar in November.

But his surprise success in a state that has a history of electing unconventional candidates — like wrestler Jesse Ventura as governor and comedian Al Franken as senator — has made the race anything but the sleepy affair it was expected to be.

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His journey from basketball player whose NBA career was cut short by mental health issues to politics is a sign of the growing power of the populist wing of the GOP that Bannon helped build. White has been a frequent guest on Bannon’s “War Room.”

It also speaks to the current condition of Minnesota’s Republican Party. It’s a state that has long been reliably Democratic in presidential politics, though Trump has vowed to compete there this year. Vice President Kamala Harris’ choice of current Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz to be her running mate on Tuesday further roils the state’s political landscape, and the GOP has yet to prove it is ready to be competitive in statewide races there. And yet Trump’s shadow looms over everything, sometimes in ways that amplify the voices of extremists who have embraced him, nudging those figures to the forefront.

“Please Call Me Crazy” is the name of White’s podcast. He’s also a prolific poster on social media, where he recently called himself “the new gold standard of American badass, smash-mouth, nationalist populism.”

His targets include the Federal Reserve, which he says is run by “Jewish elites,” as well as the national debt, the border, LGBTQ+ activists, the mainstream media and his critics. He argues that, as a Black man, he can help broaden the party’s base by appealing to voters of color in the Minneapolis-St. Paul area and others who are disillusioned with establishment politics.

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White drew little attention when he finished second in a GOP primary in 2022 for the nomination to challenge Democratic U.S. Rep. Ilhan Omar. So he was as shocked as anyone, he acknowledged in an interview, when he won a first-ballot endorsement at the state party’s convention in May. He beat a more traditional Republican, U.S. Navy veteran Joe Fraser, who’s also running in the primary. White credits Bannon’s endorsement — and his own speech — for persuading delegates that he’d be the strongest advocate for the pro-Trump “America First MAGA” movement.

University of Minnesota political scientist Larry Jacobs said the endorsement of White was a “shocking example” of how easily the process can be manipulated when participation is low. The convention was poorly attended, and many delegates didn’t know much about Fraser and were swayed by White’s “energy and charisma.”

“Royce is clearly unprepared to be a U.S. senator and a candidate,” Jacobs said. “His record in the past is shameful and will be easy pickings for Amy Klobuchar.”

It was only after White’s endorsement that his record got much scrutiny. The Campaign Legal Center filed a complaint with the Federal Election Commission in June alleging that White had used congressional campaign funds to illegally pay over $157,000 in personal expenses, saying he “appears to have misappropriated donors’ money to benefit himself.”

White denies any improper spending. In a filing last month, he reported he had reimbursed his campaign for “non-authorized expenses,” including the strip club visit. He tweeted that he loved the food there. He acknowledged that he owes child support.

As a basketball player, White led Hopkins High School to the 2009 state championship. A shoplifting arrest precipitated his exit from the University of Minnesota, but he starred at Iowa State and was picked by Houston in the first round of the 2012 NBA draft. He had an anxiety disorder that included a fear of flying, and he never played a game for the Rockets. His only NBA playing time was three minutes across three games with Sacramento in 2014. He now says he flies when he has to and that it won’t be a problem if he’s elected.

He got back into the game in the Big3, the 3-on-3 league co-founded by Ice Cube. It was Big3 co-founder Jeff Kwatinetz who introduced White to Bannon.

White also became friends with Jones, the Infowars host who owes millions of dollars over false claims that the 2012 Sandy Hook school shooting was a hoax. White said Jones himself has admitted some things he’s said were mistakes, but he’s still a fan.

“He has a lot of courage to say things that many people won’t say,” White said.

Klobuchar, with more than $6 million available in campaign cash, will have an enormous financial advantage over either Republican candidate.

Klobuchar spokesperson Ben Hill didn’t mention her challengers in touting the senator’s legislative accomplishments on forcing drug companies to negotiate prices for medicines and winning help for military veterans. “Senator Klobuchar is focused on her job in the Senate and delivering results for Minnesotans,” Hill said in an email.

Fraser said in an interview that White’s confrontational style and message won’t attract moderates and independents. He said he offers a more mainstream approach, stressing fiscal conservativism, a strong defense, world leadership and small government. White’s alliances trouble Fraser.

“Bannon is Bannon, but what I really think is an affront to decency is his support for Alex Jones,” Fraser said.

Fraser is highlighting his 26 years in the Navy, where he was an intelligence officer. His service included a combat tour in Iraq. He and his wife, who’s also a Navy veteran, settled in Minnesota because of her family. He said their frustrations with the Biden administration “and its abysmal foreign policy and its ineffective national policy” drove him into politics.

Former Minnesota GOP deputy chair Michael Brodkorb said White’s endorsement shows that the process is broken, and part of the problem is Republicans like himself who no longer attend conventions.

“You will see an active coalition of Republicans for Amy Klobuchar who will be proudly and loudly supporting Amy Klobuchar if Royce White wins the primary,” Brodkorb predicted.

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Associated Press writer Susan Haigh in Danbury, Connecticut, contributed to this report.