Jennifer Carnahan, former Minn. GOP chair, running for Nisswa mayor

NISSWA, Minn. — A big name in Minnesota politics has thrown her hat into a small tourist town's mayoral race.

Jennifer Carnahan, the former chair of the Minnesota Republican Party, is running for mayor of Nisswa in central Minnesota. Carnahan has owned the boutique Primrose Park in town for a decade and grew up in the Brainerd Lakes Area.

"Nisswa is a special place and I'm running for mayor to keep the city vibrant, strong and healthy for generations to come," Carnahan wrote on her campaign website .

Carnahan's history in state politics

Carnahan may be the most well-known candidate ever to seek office in the town of just under 2,000 residents. She made history in 2017 when she became the first woman and woman of color to lead a major political party in the state.

But her tenure as chairwoman was marked by several controversies and ended in her 2021 resignation . Carnahan was accused of creating a toxic work environment at party headquarters, including ignoring sexual harassment complaints. Further controversy arose from her connection to Anton Lazzaro , the disgraced GOP donor and co-host of her short-lived podcast, who was sentenced last year to 21 years in prison for child sex trafficking.

She has denied allegations of her leadership , which included a joint statement from several former party leaders who called her a "morally bankrupt," and motivated by "grudges, retaliation and intimidation." She also insisted she knew nothing about Lazzaro's criminal conduct.

"I think to imply guilt by association is just wrong," Carnahan told WCCO in 2021 . "I didn't have any direct knowledge on the alleged criminal activities. I found out when you guys found out. I was shocked and disgusted."

Carnahan sued the party in late 2022 , alleging leaders broke a stipulation in their severance agreement by making disparaging remarks about her, causing her to lose work opportunities.

Carnahan's marriage to late U.S. Rep. Jim Hagedorn

She married Jim Hagedorn in 2018, weeks before he began his term as the Republican congressman representing Minnesota's 1st Congressional District. In 2019, Hagedorn was diagnosed with kidney cancer and died two years later .

Carnahan then ran in the special election for his seat , saying Hagedorn said one of his last wishes was for her to "fulfill his legacy and complete his term." She eventually lost to Republican Brad Finstad , who is currently running for reflection .

Months before her husband's death, a recording went viral of Carnahan telling someone, "I don't care. Jim's gonna be... he's gonna die of cancer in two years. So be it." Carnahan later told WCCO Radio that she made the comment "in grief," and had apologized to Hagedorn.

In 2022, three of Hagedorn's family members sued her, claiming she never paid back money they loaned Hagedorn for medical treatments . The family said Hagedorn was able to pay back much of the debt, but said he promised that any remaining amount left after his death would be repaid via his inheritance, which went to Carnahan.

Carnahan says on her campaign website that she "permanently relocated to the Brainerd Lakes Area to work through her grief process."

Carnahan's early years and business career

Carnahan was born in South Korea in the mid-1970s. On her campaign website, she says she was "found abandoned on the back doorstep of a rural hospital" by a dumpster. She was soon adopted by Brainerd Lakes Area residents John and Cindra Carnahan.

Before her time in politics, Carnahan spent 15 years in corporate America, working for McDonald's Corporation and Minnesota-based companies Ecolab and General Mills.

Throughout her time in the public eye, Carnahan said she was the target of racist and sexist vitriol , including from her fellow Republicans. In a 2018 interview, Carnahan denied claims that then-President Donald Trump was guilty of stoking racial hate across the country.

"If I thought he was a racist or that anything he did was stoking racial divisions, I wouldn't want to work on his behalf because I've had to deal with racism my entire life," she said.

Trump later appointed Carnahan to the White House Advisory Commission for Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders .

Carnahan is now focused on unseating Nisswa's two-term incumbent John Ryan for the nonpartisan role. Nisswa is a beloved tourist destination famous for its shops and several bodies of water within and around its city limits, including its namesake lake, Gull Lake and Lake Hubert.

WCCO reached out to Carnahan's campaign for comment and is awaiting a response.