Phifer's lost candidacy highlights DFL divide in the 8th District

(Full audio posted below)

The reporting origins of this story about Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party (DFL) politics in northern Minnesota begins at, of all places, a rally for President Donald Trump.

The rally took place in Duluth in June 2018, with Trump flown in as the headliner. And though the president’s visit captured headlines, the event was organized to bring awareness to then-candidate Pete Stauber and his run as a Republican to represent Minnesota’s Eighth Congressional District.

This November, Stauber won the Eighth District, becoming the second Republican to hold the seat in more than 70 years. Stauber defeated Democrat Joe Radinovich in the Nov. 6 election.

Rewinding back to this summer, WTIP had press credentials to the Trump rally in Duluth. During the calm before the rally started, members of the media mingled about prior to Trump taking the stage. A longtime journalist from the Twin Cities metro region inquired about a one-time candidate for the DFL party who had garnered both local, regional, state and even national attention. That candidate was Leah Phifer.

The 27,000-square-mile Eighth  Congressional District starts just north of the Twin Cities and expands north and east to the Ontario border. As it was, with the exception of a rare instance, every two years for more than seven decades a Democrat traveled from Minnesota’s Eighth Congressional District to Washington D.C. to serve in the U.S. House of Representatives. 2018 was different.

As a result of the election, the DFL Party in Minnesota’s Eighth is at a crossroads. Issues such as copper nickel-mining, what some refer to as the ‘old-time guard on the Iron Range’ and the fact Democrats fared poorly in many rural legislative districts across the country drove the vehicle to this emblematic crossroads.

And while the Trump rally and discussions between WTIP and others in the news industry might have been the springboard for this report, another event seems to be the centerpiece of this larger overall story. This event was the Eighth's DFL convention held in Duluth in April 2018.

Phifer initially entered the race to challenge incumbent DFL Rep. Rick Nolan. During her first tour of the district, she once pulled into the parking lot of this radio station on a motorcycle before going live on the air to introduce herself as a candidate. She would take this motorcycle tour throughout the district, garnering widespread support and making progress as a frontrunner to take on Nolan and ultimately the Republican challenger come November.

Heading into the District Eight DFL convention, Phifer and her supporters were orchestrating a grassroots campaign that appeared to invigorate the DFL party in many parts of the massive district. Nolan had dropped out of the race and there appeared to be a path for Phifer to secure the nomination. That all changed in mid-April when for more than 10 hours Democrats stewed over making an endorsement to represent the party. And despite the fact Phifer led every ballot endorsement at the convention, DFL delegates couldn’t reach a consensus and all of the candidates walked away without an endorsement.

After not securing the endorsement, Phifer soon folder her campaign and dropped out of the race. Following the November election and Stauber’s victory over Radinovich, Phifer maintains she dropped out of the race primarily because she did not secure the endorsement at the convention and would be faced with a lack of funds moving into a contested primary. And in the months that followed the convention, Phifer essentially vanished from the political scene in northern Minnesota.

A native of Two Harbors, Phifer is no stranger to the federal government. She has worked for both the Federal Bureau of Investigation and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, better known as ICE. 

It was her background with ICE that led to uneasiness within certain sectors of the Minnesota DFL Party, namely with the Latino Caucus. In fact, Phifer’s background with ICE was a primary reason the Latino Caucus traveled to Duluth in April to essentially stand against her run for office. Among those who came from the Twin Cities metro to speak against Phifer was Tyler Moroles, a key player in the state’s DFL party and its current treasurer.

“This issue is very critical to our community,” he said. “And we’re not going to stand and say, ‘hey, this person learned Spanish, but then she used it against us.’”

It is not typical for members of the Latino Caucus to attend DFL conventions for the Eighth District. The Hispanic population in the massive district is slightly more than 1 percent of the overall population.

Justin Perpich was the Eighth District DFL chairperson heading into the April convention in Duluth. He is a relative of Joe Radinovich – they are second cousins – and he was a former aide to Nolan. Like Moroles, Perpich says Phifer’s background with ICE is why the Latino Caucus came to the convention in Duluth. When asked if anyone, including any of the DFL candidates, invited or encouraged the Latino Caucus to attend the convention, Perpich said he did not believe that was the case.

Less than an hour after he was interviewed for this story about the events that took place at the Eighth’s DFL convention in Duluth and the future of the party in this district, Perpich posted the following comment on Twitter:

“Frustrating when a former candidate for office is calling news organizations pushing a false narrative as to why they lost a campaign or endorsement. Stop blaming volunteers and the DFL Latino Caucus but instead look in the mirror.”

Within the same Twitter thread, Perpich posted:

“I talked to a reporter today who said that said person mentioned me and the Latino caucus were the reasons she got out. It’s hilarious.”

WTIP contacted Phifer’s former Campaign Manager Sue Hakes as the first official step in reporting on this story. Following that, WTIP contacted Phifer to set up two interviews that contain information contained in this story.

Meanwhile, Phifer maintains she does not blame any one person or group for why she dropped out of the race.

“I won’t deny that it was a factor into my decision,” she said. “But I would not say that I blame any one individual or group for the decision.”

Phifer was among a group of dozens of women who graced the cover of Time magazine in January 2018. All the women had decided to run for elected office in 2018. “The Avengers: First They Marched, Now They’re Running” was the magazine’s headline on the cover.

Following Stauber’s victory and the loss for the Democrats in the November election, Phifer and others are left to wonder about who will be marching, and who will be running during the 2020 election.

“I don’t really see it as a split, I see it as an opportunity,” Phifer said. “I think there is no better time than right now, two years before the next election, to work through our challenges and come out even stronger.”