DFL calls on GOP's Rep. Dotseth to suspend campaign after report of domestic assault

Another Greater Minnesota House district race under scrutiny.

From the Minnesota Reformer:

DFL calls on GOP legislator to suspend campaign after report of domestic assault 
by Michelle Griffith

Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party Chair Ken Martin and House Majority Leader Jamie Long, DFL-Minneapolis, on Monday urged state Rep. Jeff Dotseth, R-Kettle River, to suspend his reelection campaign after the Star Tribune reported that the first-term lawmaker was arrested in 2008 after his then-wife alleged he physically abused her and her son for over a decade.

Martin and Long also called on Minnesota House Minority Leader Lisa Demuth, R-Cold Spring, to expel Dotseth from the House Republican caucus.

“No one who has engaged repeatedly in domestic violence, child abuse and threats of murder has any business writing the laws that govern our state,” Martin said at a Capitol press conference on Tuesday. 

Dotseth’s wife in her divorce petition described allegations of abuse, including incidents of Dotseth throwing her to the floor, kicking and choking her in 1993 or 1994. She also said that Dotseth slammed her against a wall, slapped her and forced her head between his legs and squeezed tightly, the Star Tribune reported.

Dotseth’s then-wife said her son, who was a child at the time of the alleged abuse, tried to intervene multiple times and was also allegedly abused by Dotseth, the Star Tribune reported.

In 2008, Dotseth was charged with misdemeanor domestic assault, and he later pleaded guilty to a reduced charge of disorderly conduct, the Star Tribune reported. A judge issued a yearlong order for protection against Dotseth, ordering him to cease contact with his then-wife. Dotseth was also prohibited from using or possessing firearms and only allowed supervised visits with their daughter.

When reached by the Star Tribune, Dotseth in a written statement denied the allegations against him, and he said that he now has a “cordial relationship with my ex-wife, and have worked to put this difficult chapter of my life behind me.”

Demuth did not immediately publicly respond to the DFL’s calls for her to remove Dotseth from the House Republican caucus. In a statement sent to the Reformer that was also provided to the Star Tribune, Demuth said that “domestic violence is an absolute red line for me — it’s never acceptable under any circumstances.”

But Demuth also said that the case “was resolved through the legal process more than 15 years ago, concluding with no charge or conviction for domestic assault. I spoke with Rep. Dotseth and he reiterated the contents of what was in his affidavit denying the allegations that were made during the divorce proceedings.”

Long questioned why Demuth and the Minnesota Republican Party had not taken immediate action in light of the reporting published Monday.

“If domestic assault really is a red line for leader Demuth, as she said, then why is she giving Representative Dotseth a pass here?” Long said Tuesday.

Both Martin and Long said they had heard rumors of Dotseth’s past misconduct, but they didn’t know the full extent of it until they read about it in the Star Tribune.

Rep. Paul Novotny, R-Elk River, who was a sergeant with the Sherburne County Sheriff’s Office at the time of the 911 call, was one of two officers who responded to the 2008 domestic assault call against Dotseth, but he doesn’t recall specifics about the interaction.

Democrats in 2021 also ran into trouble with candidate vetting after then Rep. John Thompson’s past allegations of domestic violence surfaced. Thompson was removed from the House DFL caucus but stayed in the Legislature. He was eventually defeated in a primary election. 

This Minnesota Reformer article is republished online under Creative Commons license CC BY-NC-ND 4.0. 

Photo:  Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party Chair Ken Martin, left, and House Majority Leader Jamie Long, DFL-Minneapolis, called on GOP Rep. Jeff Dotseth to suspend his reelection campaign at a Capitol press conference on Tuesday, Sept. 17. Photo by Michelle Griffith/Minnesota Reformer.

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