A Minnesota Republican lawmaker who once mocked Democrats for being 'drunk at the wheel' on taxpayer fraud is now facing his own drink-driving charge, less than six months after posting that jibe on X.
Rep. Elliott Engen, 27, a second-term Republican representing White Bear Township, was arrested in the early hours of Friday, 27 March 2026, on suspicion of driving while impaired, just hours after participating in a six-hour session on the Minnesota House floor. The arrest, confirmed by the White Bear Lake Police Department in a public press release, has immediately overshadowed his candidacy for state auditor, a race in which he had positioned himself as the candidate most serious about rooting out fiscal misconduct.
The irony was impossible to miss. In September 2025, Engen had used his official X account to publicly taunt the Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party, writing, 'The DFL has been drunk at the wheel in protecting taxpayer dollars from systemic fraud. There are over $1 Billion dollars worth of reasons Minnesotans are ready to chart a new path.' By 1:51 a.m. on Friday, he was the one being pulled over.
The Traffic Stop, the Breath Test and a Disputed BAC
According to a press release issued by White Bear Lake Police Chief Dale Hager, officers conducted a traffic stop near the intersection of Fourth Street and Otter Lake Road at approximately 1:51 a.m. The vehicle was flagged for multiple violations, including speeding, expired registration tabs and an inoperable headlight.
Engen was taken to the White Bear Lake Police Department, where he submitted to a breathalyser test. Police recorded a blood alcohol concentration (BAC) of 0.13, well above Minnesota's legal threshold of 0.08. He was then booked into the Ramsey County Adult Detention Centre at 4:42 a.m. and released at 6:21 a.m. on charges of fourth-degree DWI and fourth-degree DUI, both misdemeanours. The case has been forwarded to the city's prosecuting attorney.
His attorney, prominent Twin Cities lawyer Chris Madel, disputed the 0.13 figure. Madel provided a testing document to CBS Minnesota showing two separate readings of 0.098 and 0.092, still above the legal limit, but lower than the police account. That discrepancy has not been publicly resolved. Madel confirmed his client's regret, telling Alpha News that 'Elliott regrets his actions.'
Engen issued a public statement on Friday afternoon. 'To my family, colleagues and constituents. I am deeply sorry. I strive to be a man of great character, and my actions fell short last night. I will learn from this. I will do better,' he said.
The Hours Before
The timeline of Thursday adds significant context to the arrest. A photograph shared by former House staff photographer Brian Basham on social media showed Engen and fellow Republican Rep. Walter Hudson drinking at Burger Moe's in St. Paul as early as 2:30 p.m., during normal working hours. Basham's caption described both men as having consumed cocktails and working through tall beers before he left the establishment.
Both Engen and Hudson later attended the House Education Finance Committee's biweekly meeting, though records show both left partway through, departing before a scheduled item on student absenteeism was taken up.
That evening, Engen participated in a full six-hour House floor session, during which he spoke on legislation related to large-capacity ammunition magazines, before adjourning around 9:15 p.m. He was also scheduled to appear at a fundraiser for his state auditor campaign in downtown White Bear Lake that night.
KSTP 5 Eyewitness News said it reached out to Rep. Hudson for comment and was awaiting a response at time of publication. Hudson had not issued a public statement as of Friday.
The DFL has been drunk at the wheel in protecting taxpayer dollars from systemic fraud.
— Elliott Engen (@elliottengenMN) September 5, 2025
There are over $1 Billion dollars worth of reasons Minnesotans are ready to chart a new path. https://t.co/21Hrwl3DHs
The Auditor Race
Engen entered the race for Minnesota State Auditor in October 2025, building a campaign almost entirely around the issue of fraud in public programmes. His September post on X directly targeted DFL candidate Rep. Dan Wolgamott of St. Cloud, who had himself pleaded guilty to a fourth-degree DWI charge in 2023 after registering a BAC of 0.09 in Kanabec County. Engen's jab was widely understood as an allusion to Wolgamott's conviction.
Friday's arrest means that both major candidates for the state auditor's office now have a DWI record, or an alleged one in Engen's case, as formal charges had not been filed by Friday morning. The Minnesota Reformer noted that at least five current and former state legislators have been arrested on suspicion of drunk driving in recent years, including two Republicans and three Democrats.
There is also a jurisdictional wrinkle in Engen's auditor bid. The state auditor's office oversees local government financial integrity, not state programme spending, meaning it would have had no authority over the 'systemic fraud' Engen pledged to combat.
Republican House Speaker Lisa Demuth, of Cold Spring, released a measured statement on Friday. 'I'm extremely disappointed to learn of Rep. Engen's arrest. I will be working to gather information about the circumstances of his arrest and charges and will address this directly with Rep. Engen and consider further consequences as the legal process unfolds,' she told the Minnesota Reformer.
When asked whether his client would withdraw from the auditor race, Madel told FOX 9, 'We haven't discussed it, but I sure hope not.' The candidacy, for now, remains active.
