MINNEAPOLIS (AP) 鈥 Democratic U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar has won a fourth term, defeating anti-establishment Republican and former NBA player Royce White in Minnesota鈥檚 top election matchup.
鈥淭o the state of Minnesota. I once again pledge to you I will stand my ground while always seeking common ground,鈥 Klobuchar told cheering supporters in St. Paul. 鈥淚 will strive every day to be worthy of your faith and trust.鈥
Klobuchar went into the campaign with a history of big wins and a huge financial advantage. She drew 58% of the vote in 2006, 65% in 2012 and 60% in 2018. And she raised nearly $21 million by the end of the last reporting period in September.
That compares with just under $449,000 for White, who acknowledged he was as surprised as anyone when the state Republican Party endorsed him in May. The self-described populist went on to get a plurality in the August primary against a more conventional Republican, Navy veteran Joe Fraser.
While White has been a strong supporter of Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump, the former president never endorsed him, and top Minnesota GOP office-holders kept their distance. But his party endorsement effort was backed by Trump strategist , and White also is allied with
White tweeted that he's not done with trying to change the GOP in Minnesota and nationally, and he questioned whether Senate Republicans will use their new majority to put America's interests first and slow the decline of the nation.
White鈥檚 NBA career was cut short by primarily a fear of flying, and he calls his podcast, 鈥淧lease, Call Me Crazy.鈥 Critics have denounced White鈥檚 comments on social media and other forums as misogynistic, homophobic and antisemitic. In an interview with Bannon, he once said: 鈥淟ook, let鈥檚 just be frank. Women have become too mouthy. As the Black man in the room, I鈥檒l say that.鈥
Tuesday's victory gives Klobuchar Minnesota's record for the most consecutive wins by a Democratic senator since the state began directly electing senators in 1918, according to Eric Ostermeier, curator of the at the University of Minnesota. She's tied for four terms with Henrik Shipstead, who was elected as a Farmer-Laborite in 1922, 1928 and 1934 and as a Republican in 1940.
Only two Minnesota senators won five terms: Republican Knute Nelson, who was elected by the Legislature for his first three, and Democrat Hubert Humphrey, whose terms were not consecutive.
Klobuchar, who announced her amid a was chief prosecutor in Minnesota鈥檚 largest county when she was first elected to the Senate in 2006.
She chairs the powerful Senate Rules Committee, which surrounding the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection. And as a member of the Judiciary Committee, she drew attention for her Brett Kavanaugh in 2018.
Klobuchar is the daughter of a well-known Minneapolis newsman who died in 2022, and Rose Klobuchar, a schoolteacher who died in 2010. Her grandfather was an iron miner.
