The chairman of the Minnesota Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party on Thursday morning called for the resignation of a DFL state senator accused of theft last month.
The call came after the close of Minnesota’s legislative session in which Sen. Nicole Mitchell, DFL-Woodbury, gave the party a one-vote advantage in getting many priority bills and spending policies across the finish line. Republicans on Capitol Hill had called on her to resign almost immediately after news of her arrest at her stepmother’s home in Detroit Lakes.
DFL Party Chairman Ken Martin said in a news release that Mitchell should be held accountable.
“While Senator Mitchell is entitled to her day in court, her continued refusal to take responsibility for her actions is beneath her office and has become a distraction to her district and the Legislature,” Martin wrote. “Now that her constituents have had full representation through the end of the legislative session, it is time for her to step down to focus on the personal and legal challenges she faces.”
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There is now some urgency around the call for Mitchell to resign. If he resigns at the end of next week, he would put the special election on the November ballot, aligned with the regular election. That would mean a higher turnout than special elections typically produce, in a winner-take-all race for the Senate majority.
In a statement last month, Mitchell said he would not resign, saying all the facts about the alleged break-in were unknown. She said in a social media post at the time that she was trying to recover items from her late father, including her ashes.
His attorney, Bruce Ringstrom Jr., filed a request with the court Wednesday to postpone the next hearing in his criminal case until July 1 due to a scheduling conflict on his part. It was previously scheduled for June 10. The state’s attorneys agreed, according to the court filing.
Ringstrom Jr. did not immediately respond to a request for comment Thursday morning.
Mitchell also faces ongoing ethics complaint proceedings in the Senate. They were scheduled to be brought forward days after the June court hearing, but could be postponed. He has also been excluded from DFL committee and caucus assignments but was allowed to cast votes in the final weeks of the legislative session.
Martin’s statement Thursday was issued a day before the start of the DFL state convention in Duluth.
Other senior leaders have pressured Mitchell to resign without explicitly asking for it.
Gov. Tim Walz said on last week’s Politics Friday show on MPR News that the incident involving Mitchell is “disturbing.”
“It is worrying for the family. There are legal questions that need answering. “I, for my part, believe that it is necessary to hold public servants to a higher standard,” she stated. “She certainly has due process ahead of her. I think if she were me, she would focus on my personal matters and leave it to someone else.”
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