MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — When Donald Trump’s longtime ally Steve Bannon turned himself in at a federal prison in Connecticut, he asked an unconventional U.S. Senate candidate from Minnesota to stand by his side.
Royce White, who is seeking the Republican nomination in next week’s primary to challenge incumbent Democratic U.S. Senator Amy Klobuchar, put his arm around Bannon last month and praised him as an “American hero.”
White’s friends include conspiracy theorist Alex Jones, and his past social media comments have been denounced as misogynistic, homophobic, anti-Semitic and blasphemous. His legal and financial troubles include unpaid child support and questionable campaign spending. As first reported by The Daily Beast, the potentially illegal spending included $1,200 he spent at a Florida strip club after losing the 2022 election to Congress.
Still, White surprised Minnesota’s political world in May when, with Bannon’s backing, he received the endorsement of the state’s Republican Party to run against Klobuchar. He still has to win Tuesday’s primary and is a clear underdog against Klobuchar in November.
But his surprise 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 campaign anything but the monotonous affair that was expected.
His journey from basketball player, whose NBA career ended prematurely due to mental health problems, to politics is a sign of the growing power of the populist wing of the Republican Party that Bannon helped build. White was a regular guest in Bannon’s “war room.”
It also speaks to the current state of the Republican Party in Minnesota. It’s a state that has long been reliably Democratic in the presidential race, even though Trump has promised to run there this year. Vice President Kamala Harris’s selection of current Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz 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 there in statewide elections. And yet Trump’s shadow looms over it all, sometimes in ways that amplify the voices of extremists who have embraced him and push those figures to the forefront.
“Please Call Me Crazy” is the name of White’s podcast. He also posts a lot on social media, where he recently described himself as “the new gold standard of American tough-as-nails, hard-hitting, nationalist populism.”
His targets include the Federal Reserve, which he says is run by “Jewish elites,” as well as the national debt, the border, LGBTQ+ activists, the mainstream media and his critics. He argues that as a Black man, he can assist broaden the party’s base by appealing to voters of color in the greater Minneapolis-St. Paul area and others disillusioned with establishment politics.
White attracted little attention when he finished second in a 2022 Republican primary and was nominated to challenge Democratic U.S. Rep. Ilhan Omar. So he was as shocked as everyone else, he admitted in an interview, when he won the first-ballot endorsement at the state party convention in May. He beat a more time-honored Republican, U.S. Navy veteran Joe Fraser, who is also running in the primary. White credits Bannon’s endorsement – and his own speech – with convincing delegates that he would be the strongest supporter of the pro-Trump “America First MAGA” movement.
University of Minnesota political scientist Larry Jacobs said White’s support 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 U.S. senator and candidate,” Jacobs said. “His past record is disgraceful and will be easy prey for Amy Klobuchar.”
It was only after White’s endorsement that his record came under scrutiny. The Campaign Legal Center filed a complaint with the Federal Election Commission in June alleging that White used congressional campaign funds to illegally pay more than $157,000 for personal expenses. He “appears to have misappropriated donor funds for his own benefit.”
White denies any improper spending. In a filing last month, he said he reimbursed his campaign for “unauthorized expenses,” including a trip to the strip club. He tweeted that he enjoyed the food there. He acknowledged that he owes child support.
As a basketball player, White led Hopkins High School to the 2009 state championship. He dropped out of the University of Minnesota after an arrest for shoplifting, but played at Iowa State and was selected in the first round of the 2012 NBA draft by Houston. He suffered from an anxiety disorder that included a fear of flying and never played a game for the Rockets. His only playing time in the NBA was three minutes in three games against Sacramento in 2014. Today, he says he’ll fly if he has to, and that won’t be a problem if he’s selected.
He returned to the game in Big3, the 3-on-3 league co-founded by Ice Cube. Big3 co-founder Jeff Kwatinetz introduced White to Bannon.
White also befriended Jones, the Infowars host who owes millions of dollars over false claims that the 2012 Sandy Hook school shooting was a hoax. White said Jones himself has admitted that some of his statements were errors, but he is still a fan.
“He has a lot of courage to say things that a lot of people wouldn’t say,” White said.
Klobuchar has more than six million dollars in campaign funds and will have a huge financial advantage over the two Republican candidates.
Klobuchar’s spokesman Ben Hill did not mention her challengers when he touted the senator’s legislative successes, which forced pharmaceutical companies to negotiate drug prices and secured aid for war veterans. “Senator Klobuchar is focused on her work in the Senate and getting results for the people of Minnesota,” Hill said in an email.
Fraser said in an interview that White’s confrontational style and message do not appeal to moderates and independents. He represents a more mainstream approach, emphasizing fiscal conservatism, a sturdy defense, world leadership and compact government. White’s alliances cause problems for Fraser.
“Bannon is Bannon, but what I really think is a breach of decency is his support for Alex Jones,” Fraser said.
Fraser points to 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 their family. He said their frustration with the Biden administration “and their abysmal foreign policy and their ineffective domestic policy” drove him into politics.
Former Minnesota Republican vice chairman Michael Brodkorb said White’s support showed the process wasn’t working and that part of the problem was that Republicans like himself were no longer attending the party’s 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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Associated Press writer Susan Haigh in Danbury, Connecticut, contributed to this report.
