Minnesota Lieutenant Governor Pick is a Political Outsider

(Photo by Michelle Griffith/Minnesota Reformer)

(Minnesota Reformer) – The executive running for the Republican nomination for Minnesota governor said that Brian Nicholson will be his running mate, though he offered scant biographical details about the man who would be a heartbeat from the governor’s office.

Qualls finished second in the precinct caucus straw poll last month to his chief rival, House Speaker Lisa Demuth.

Neither Qualls nor Nicholson, a self-described businessman, have held elected office. Nicholson said he hasn’t been involved in party politics but identifies as a lifelong Republican. Qualls said Nicholson was “an unconventional choice.”

“Brian Nicholson and I both have lived … the American dream in our own ways. We come from different walks of life, but we have arrived at the same destination — two men from the business world who are tired of watching the political class fail our state,” Qualls said.