The Minnesota Republican Party gave an unexpected endorsement to Royce White, a former NBA player who has embraced several right-wing conspiracy theories.
White, if successful in the state’s Aug. 13 primary, will face Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) in the November general election. In 2021, White began embracing many right-wing conspiracy theories and was a frequent guest on conspiracy theorist Alex Jones’s show, Infowars, after previously being an activist involved with the Black Lives Matter movement in 2020.
“The reality is we need people now more than ever that can’t be bought,” White said after he received the endorsement. “They don’t have a price, and I can’t stress that to you enough.”
He garnered 67% of the state GOP’s support at their convention on Saturday. In 2022, he ran an unsuccessful primary bid to unseat Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN), but he did not secure the party nomination.
The Minnesota GOP granted White the endorsement with “reservations” over concerns regarding his campaign funding and personal debt. According to the Federal Election Commission, White’s campaign has about $10,000 on hand. White said the personal debt was because he could not reach an agreement with the NBA regarding mental health.
White appeared in three NBA games after being drafted by the Houston Rockets in 2012. He said he could not reach an agreement with the organization on mental health grounds due to his fear of flying.
In 2020, he called for police reforms following the Black Lives Matter protests that originated in Minneapolis after police killed George Floyd.
“We’re talking about pushing the police all the way outside of the circle of trust and having them reestablish their entry into the circle of trust through their actions and through proving that they can be trusted in that circle,” he said on MSNBC in June 2020.
Following other media outlets finding his past statements after receiving the party endorsement, White distanced himself from the movement and attacked the media.
“Instead of celebrating the Minnesota Republican Party for endorsing the first Black candidate for Senate in party history, who grew up in the Rondo St. Paul and is as deeply rooted in our Minnesota Black community as you can be, they write hit pieces on day one,” White wrote on social media.
He has embraced far-right ideologies and conspiracy theories, including those regarding the 2020 election and the origins of COVID-19, and he claimed the husband of then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) was attacked in 2022 “during a gay lovers sex quarrel.”
White also wrote in December of last year that “the LGBTQ movement is the brainchild of radical feminists and their cucked men…. At least from a political standpoint.”
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He’s also attacked NBA legend Charles Barkley, claiming he was influenced by a Jewish “cabal,” according to MSNBC.
It will be a tough fight in the race to unseat Klobuchar, who was first elected in 2006 and is popular in Minnesota. In 2018, she received 60.3% of the vote. The race is currently labeled as “Solid D” by the Cook Political Report, which is the strongest rating possible for Democrats.
