MINNEAPOLIS — When Steve Bannon, Donald Trump’s longtime ally, surrendered to a federal prison In Connecticut, he asked an unconventional U.S. Senate candidate from Minnesota to join his side.
Royce White, who is seeking the Republican nomination in next week’s primary to challenge incumbent Democratic Sen. Amy Klobuchar, put his arm around Bannon last month and praised him as “an American hero.”
White is also among his friends conspiracy theorist Alex Jones, and his past comments on social media have been condemned as misogynistic, homophobic, anti-Semitic and blasphemous. His legal and financial problems include unpaid alimony and questionable campaign spending. If first reported by The Daily Beast, Potential illegal expenses include $1,200 he spent at a Florida strip club after losing a 2022 race for Congress.
Still, White stunned Minnesota’s political world in May when, with Bannon’s backing, he won the endorsement of the state’s Republican Party to run against Klobuchar. He still needs a win in Tuesday’s primary and is an overwhelming underdog against Klobuchar in November.
But his surprising success in a state that has a history of electing unconventional candidates — such as wrestler Jesse Ventura for governor and comedian Al Franken for senator — has made the race anything but the sleepy affair it should have been.
His journey from basketball player whose NBA career was cut short by mental health problems to politics is a sign of the growing power of the populist wing of the GOP that Bannon helped build. White is a frequent guest on Bannon’s “War Room.”
It also speaks to the current state of Minnesota’s Republican Party. It’s a state that has long been reliably Democratic in presidential politics, though Trump has vowed to compete there this year. Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz’s choice of Vice President Kamala Harris as her running mate on Tuesday further roils the state’s political landscape, and the GOP has yet to prove it’s ready to be competitive in statewide races there. And yet Trump’s shadow looms large, sometimes in ways that amplify the voices of the extremists who have embraced him and push those figures to the forefront.
“Please Call Me Crazy” is the name of White’s podcast. He’s also a prolific poster on social media, where he recently called himself “the new gold standard of American badass, smash-mouth, nationalist populism.”
His targets include the Federal Reserve, which he says is run by “Jewish elites,” the national debt, the border, LGBTQ+ activists, the mainstream media and his critics. He argues that as a black man, he can help broaden the party’s base by appealing to voters of color in the Minneapolis-St. Paul area and others disillusioned with establishment politics.
White drew little attention when he finished second in a 2022 GOP primary for the nomination to run against Democratic U.S. Rep. Ilhan Omar. So he was as shocked as anyone, he admitted in an interview, when he made it onto the first ballot at the state party convention in May, beating a more traditional Republican, U.S. Marine veteran Joe Fraser, who is also running in the primary. White credits Bannon’s endorsement — and his own speech — for convincing delegates that he would be the strongest advocate for the pro-Trump “America First MAGA” movement.
Larry Jacobs, a political scientist at the University of Minnesota, said the endorsement of White was a “shocking example” of how easily the process can be manipulated when turnout is low. The convention was poorly attended and many delegates did not know much about Fraser and were swayed by White’s “energy and charisma.”
“Royce is clearly not prepared to be a United States senator and candidate,” Jacobs said. “His past is shameful and will be easy pickings for Amy Klobuchar.”
Only after White’s approval was his record thoroughly examined. The Campaign Legal Center a complaint filed In June, the Federal Election Commission alleged that White used congressional campaign funds to illegally pay more than $157,000 in personal expenses, saying he “appears to have embezzled donors’ money for his own personal gain.”
White denies improper spending. In a filing last month, he said he reimbursed his campaign for “unauthorized expenses,” including a visit to the strip club. He tweeted that he loved the food there. He acknowledged that he owes child support.
As a basketball player, White led Hopkins High School to the 2009 state championship. An arrest for shoplifting led to his departure from the University of Minnesota, but he starred at Iowa State and was selected by Houston in the first round of the 2012 NBA draft. He had an anxiety disorder that caused a fear of flying, and he never played a game for the Rockets. His only NBA playing time was three minutes in three games with Sacramento in 2014. He now says he’ll fly if he has to and that it won’t be a problem if he gets picked.
He returned to the game in the Big3, the 3-on-3 league co-founded by Ice Cube. It was Big3 co-founder Jeff Kwatinetz who introduced White to Bannon.
White also befriended Jones, the Infowars host who owes millions of dollars due to false claims that the 2012 Sandy Hook School Shooting was a hoax. White said Jones himself has admitted that some of the things he said were mistakes, but he is still a fan.
“He has the courage to say things that a lot of people won’t say,” White said.
Klobuchar, who has more than $6 million in campaign funds, will have a huge financial advantage over both Republican candidates.
Klobuchar’s spokesman Ben Hill did not name her challengers as she touted the senator’s legislative accomplishments in forcing pharmaceutical companies to negotiate drug prices and winning aid for military veterans. “Senator Klobuchar is focused on her work in the Senate and delivering results for Minnesotans,” Hill said in an email.
Fraser said in an interview that White’s confrontational style and message will not appeal to moderates and independents. He said he offers a more mainstream approach, emphasizing fiscal conservatism, strong defense, global leadership and small government. White’s alliances trouble Fraser.
“Bannon is Bannon, but what I find really insulting is his support for Alex Jones,” Fraser said.
Fraser emphasized his 26 years in the Navy, where he was an intelligence officer. His service included a combat tour in Iraq. He and his wife, also a Navy veteran, settled in Minnesota for her family. He said their frustrations with the Biden administration “and its abysmal foreign policy and ineffective national policy” drove him into politics.
According to Michael Brodkorb, former vice chairman of the Minnesota GOP, White’s endorsement shows that the process is broken and that part of the problem lies with Republicans like himself who no longer attend party conventions.
“You will see an active coalition of Republicans for Amy Klobuchar who will proudly and loudly support Amy Klobuchar if Royce White wins the primary,” Brodkorb predicted.
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Susan Haigh, an Associated Press editor in Danbury, Conn., contributed to this report.