Republican who mocked Dems for being 'drunk at the wheel' drops out of race after DWI

Minnesota Republican state Rep. Elliott Engen quietly ended his campaign for state auditor, instead filing to run for re-election to his seat in White Bear Lake.

According to FOX 9, Engen had previously "announced his campaign for State Auditor, saying in the position he would seek to expand the office and increase accountability," and vowed to be a "financial watchdog" for taxpayers.

But his political fortunes took a turn for the worse in March, when he was pulled over for drunk driving. He had apparently been acting as a designated driver for state Rep. Walter Hudson, who was also intoxicated and carrying a gun.

Prior to his stint in the legislature, Engen helped found a chapter of the far-right student group Turning Point USA at Hamline University.

During the campaign before his legal troubles, he ironically proclaimed on X, “The DFL [Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party] has been drunk at the wheel in protecting taxpayer dollars from systemic fraud.” This was likely a reference to DFL state auditor candidate Dan Wolgamott, who himself had been arrested on suspicion of drinking and driving in 2023.

Such drunk-driving scandals have occurred frequently in the political world. Earlier this year, a right-wing pundit and former prosecutor in Arizona, Rachel Alexander, was arrested on the road with elevated blood alcohol and tried to get out of it by name-dropping the county sheriff — though she was reportedly so impaired she couldn't even pronounce his name.