A top Republican candidate for Minnesota governor has dropped out of the race, sharply criticizing what he called a “federal retribution on the citizens of our state” amid the Trump administration’s intensified immigration enforcement operations – which sparked public outrage after US agents’ killings of ICU nurse Alex Pretti and Renee Good in Minneapolis.
On Monday, Minneapolis-based attorney Chris Madel made his announcement, saying in a video online: “I cannot support the … stated retribution on the citizens of our state, nor can I count myself a member of a party that would do so.”
Donald Trump, like Madel, is a Republican. He expressed support for federal immigration agents’ purported original aim of deporting undocumented immigrants involved in major criminal activity.
But Madel said Operation Metro Surge has “expanded far beyond its stated focus on true public safety threats”.
“United States citizens, particularly those of color, live in fear,” Madel said, referring to the immigration enforcement operation, in which roughly 3,000 federal agents have been deployed in and around Minneapolis since December, reportedly carrying out thousands of arrests.
“United States citizens are carrying papers to prove their citizenship. That’s wrong.”
Madel had launched his gubernatorial bid in December and provided legal counsel to ICE agent Jonathan Ross after he shot Good to death on 7 January while she drove away from an encounter with him.
His withdrawal comes as some Republicans in Minnesota and Washington have begun to distance themselves from the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown.
Madel said ICE’s Operation Metro Surge would hurt Republicans statewide after large street protests met the killings of Pretti and Good, along with widespread criticism beyond Minneapolis.
“National Republicans have made it nearly impossible for a Republican to win a statewide election in Minnesota,” he said.
As Madel put it, he said he had spoken with US citizens detained by ICE in Minnesota “due to the color of their skin”, including law enforcement officers stopped during what he described as pre-textual encounters.
“Driving while Hispanic is not a crime,” he said, two days after federal agents fatally shot Pretti even though video showed him unarmed and restrained. “Neither is driving while Asian.”
Madel further argued it was unconstitutional to weaponize criminal investigations against political opponents and for ICE to conduct home raids based only on civil warrants “that need only be signed by a border patrol agent”.
“That’s unconstitutional and it’s wrong,” he said, calling ICE operations in the state an “unmitigated disaster”.
Explaining his decision to drop out of the gubernatorial race, Madel said: “At the end of the day, I have to look my daughters in the eye and tell them: ‘I believe I did what was right.’ And I am doing that today.”
Madel went on to call for more support towards local law enforcement officers, saying: “We know that federal immigration operations have led to increased street level activity, community disruptions and complaints about tactics that affect the public trust.
“We also know that the governor, the attorney general and the mayor of Minneapolis have prohibited state and local law enforcement from assisting their federal counterparts. … This has created extreme challenges for local police.”
He added: “They have to balance following state orders, maintaining safety and relationships in diverse communities, and navigating the fallout from federal actions occurring within their jurisdictions without full coordination or cooperation. They’re stuck between the proverbial rock and a hard place. It is unfair, and our hearts should go out to them.”
Minnesota’s incumbent Democratic governor Tim Walz has ruled out running in November’s race. He had been Kamala Harris’s running mate when she lost the 2024 presidential election to Trump.
Democratic US senator Amy Klobuchar recently filed to form a gubernatorial campaign committee but – appearing Sunday on NBC’s Meet the Press – declined to confirm if she was running to succeed Walz.
