Minnesota’s top law enforcement officer got caught on tape calling voters “bigots” and “racists,” then denied saying it to the opponent’s face on live television.
Story Snapshot
- Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison made the remarks at a September 22 campaign event while discussing voter turnout.
- Opponent Ron Schutz confronted Ellison at an October 16 debate, saying the comment targeted his wife, kids, friends, and 93-year-old mother.
- Ellison denied making the accusation and accused Schutz of a “deliberate misconstruction” of his words.
- Video and a debate transcript show Ellison used the words “bigots” and “racists” in the context of who would show up to vote.
What Ellison Said At The September Event
Video from a September 22 campaign event shows Ellison talking about turnout in what he called a “base election.” He asked whether people who believe in “equality” and “human dignity” would vote, or whether “the bigots and the racists” would show up instead. Ellison was speaking about his race against Republican candidate Ron Schutz for Minnesota Attorney General.
Conservative media outlets quickly picked up the clip. Social media accounts spread the video within hours, framing it as Ellison smearing his opponent’s entire base of support rather than naming any specific wrongdoing. The clip set the stage for a tense confrontation weeks later, when the two candidates met face-to-face on a debate stage in front of Minnesota voters.
Schutz Confronts Ellison On Live Television
During an October 16 debate broadcast by Minnesota’s PBS affiliate, Schutz brought up the video directly. He told Ellison the comment applied to “anybody who’s not voting for you,” including his own wife, children, friends, and his 93-year-old mother. Schutz said his mother saw the video and was personally hurt by being lumped in with “bigots” and “racists” simply for backing her son’s campaign.
Schutz pressed Ellison hard, telling him on camera, “You called anybody who’s not voting for you a racist and a bigot, Keith, you did it, you can’t deny it”. That line, delivered in a public debate with the quote read back almost word for word, put Ellison in the position of either owning his remarks or disputing them in front of a statewide audience.
Ellison Denies It Despite The Tape
Ellison refused to accept Schutz’s framing. He told Schutz, “I’m not going to buy into your deliberate misconstruction of what I said,” rejecting the idea that his remarks targeted Republicans and independents as a group. Ellison argued he was drawing a contrast between two kinds of voters, not labeling every non-supporter with a slur.
The problem for Ellison is that the video exists and the words are not seriously in dispute. He used “bigots” and “racists” to describe one side of a turnout question, and his opponent’s supporters reasonably heard themselves described that way. Whether Ellison meant it as broadly as Schutz claims is a fair argument. That the words were spoken is not.
Why This Matters To Minnesota Voters
An X post from mid-October captured the core complaint from conservative voters watching this unfold: Ellison was “asked to apologize for calling Republicans and Independents racists and bigots for not supporting his candidacy” and “denies it happened despite Ron Schutz reading Ellison’s statement verbatim to him”. For an Attorney General whose job is enforcing the law fairly, dodging responsibility for his own recorded words raises real questions.
Keith Ellison Denies He Called Republicans and Independents Racists and Bigots, but It's on Video https://t.co/gxOhcYVS6S
— Jouel (@Jouel50779032) October 19, 2026
This is not Ellison’s first brush with controversy over his public conduct, and voters in Minnesota now have a direct comparison between what he said on tape in September and what he claimed in October. Elected officials who insult half the electorate and then deny it when confronted deserve scrutiny, especially from the very voters they are accusing. Minnesota’s Attorney General race is heading toward Election Day with this exchange fresh in voters’ minds.
