A primary challenger has surfaced for Republican Speaker of the House Kurt Daudt in district 31A.
Alan Duff is filing today to run against Speaker Daudt, a move which will not be received well by many in the Republican Party. Duff is a retired army officer, served as a county commissioner and city council member, and owns a business that helps local veterans. Duff says his time as county commissioner opened his eyes to the nature of local politics, explaining that “backroom deals” are hurting the country.
Part of the surprise from this run is Speaker Daudt was unanimously endorsed at his local convention and is a prominent leader in the Republican Party, but Duff says that is not what is important. Duff explains one of the reasons he decided to run is because Daudt “suggested raising taxes through license tab fees,” saying he “would have gone the other direction” and reduced the tax burden on Minnesotans.
Duff has a long road ahead of him in the primary, Speaker Daudt is credited with helping Republicans gain a majority in the house in 2014 and passing tax cuts in the last legislative session. Duff says he intends to talk to as many voters as possible in the coming weeks.