MNGOP Chairwoman Jennifer Carnahan Resigns

(KNSI) – Minnesota GOP Chairwoman Jennifer Carnahan has resigned.

“It has been the honor of a lifetime to serve as Chairwoman for the Republican Party of Minnesota. I never imagined my life would move from being abandoned as a baby next to the garbage dumpster on the back doorstep of a rural hospital in South Korea on the day I was born to serving as Chairwoman of the Republican Party of Minnesota,” Carnahan said in a statement released by the party on Twitter.

Her statement says her resignation goes into effect when the party’s Executive Committee meeting ends Thursday night. In that meeting, committee members voted 8-7 to pay Carnahan three months’ severance.

“At this point, it’s in the best interest of the party and my mental health to resign from my position as Chairwoman, effective upon the conclusion of tonight’s Executive Committee meeting, and step away from the party,” Carnahan said.

The indictment of donor Anton Lazzaro and college GOP leader Gisela Castro Medina on sex trafficking charges put the chairwoman and wife of Rep. Jim Hagedorn in hot water.

“I just want to go on the record and say I had no direct knowledge or was in any way involved with the alleged criminal activities undertaken by Mr. Lazzaro,” Carnahan said on KNSI on Tuesday.

In the days following Lazzaro’s and Castro Medina’s arrests, allegations that Carnahan participated in sexual harassment, verbal abuse and toxic workplace culture arose from former staffers. Numerous state leaders called for her resignation.

Press Release: Carnahan Announcement pic.twitter.com/rrwQC5mFAM

— MNGOP (@mngop) August 20, 2021

Minnesota’s Sixth District Congressman Tom Emmer released a statement regarding Carnahan’s resignation saying, “Jennifer Carnahan’s resignation is the first step in moving the Republican Party of Minnesota forward. However, if we are to restore integrity and live by the conservative values we stand for, there is more work to be done. I urge the executive board to continue on with full investigations into any alleged impropriety. I am grateful to the victims who have come forward, and I hope the Party will do everything possible to honor their stories and help them heal. Despite these heartbreaking events, our Republican values still hold fast and I am confident that we will unite to better our state as we look ahead to 2022.”

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