The Barbi mailer. Despite bright pinks, District 26-A politics have taken a dark turn with this Republican attack on Democrat Sarah Kruger. The mailer arrived in Winona County mailboxes two months ahead of the November election to fill the State Housen vacancy created with the retirement of 19-term State Representative Gene Pelowski.
Kruger as target. The mailer encourages voters to infer that Democrat candidate Sarah Kruger had a role in the $550 million project to expand and modernize a state building for House offices. Kruger, however had no role in the project. She was neither in office nor a candidate at the time.
Republican mailer originated at state level
WINONA, Minn. – The state Republican Party launched a misogynistic attack against Sarah Kruger, the Democratic candidate for Winona County’s 26-A seat in the Legislature. The attack is on a two-sided, heavy-stock, slick paper mailer that likens Kruger to the easily lampooned Barbi doll character in pop culture. The mailer drips with Barbi pinks. One side has a Barbi caricature and a pink dollhouse. Opposite is a portrait of Kruger smiling with an architect’s rendering of a state office building that’s being expanded for the House offices and a few agencies. The message:
”Barbi Got Her Dream House … and Sarah Kruger Will Get a Dream House Too”
Besides the demeaning and diminutive sexist message, the mailer implies that Kruger somehow had a role in approving and funding the office project near the Capitol. Fact: Kruger was not a legislator – not even a candidate — when the project was authorized. Too, the mailer says the project is costing $770 million; It is a major project to be sure, but most projections are $550 million..
Parentage of mailer
Not clear is whether Winona City Council member Aaron Repinski, who also is seeking the 26-A seat, was involved in engineering the Barbi mailer .Also unclear was whether Jerry Papenfuss, Repinski’s campaign manager, had a role. The mailer itself echoes a GOP attack last winter on 19-term State Representative Gene Pelowski, a Winona Democrat. The anti-Pelowski mailer also tried to nail Pelowski for the offices project. Since then, Pelowski has retired as one of the most popular legislators in Minnesota history after 19 consecutive terms. The new mailer, aimed at Kruger, picks up the anti-Pelowski message regarding rhe state office project.
Sourcing disclaimer
Both the attacks on Pelowski and Kruger claim to be from the Republican Party of Minnesota and the House Republican Campaign Committee. The mailer went out in mass distribution through the U.S. Postal Service network from the Minneapolis suburb of Edina. In the mailer’s fine print: “This is an independent expenditure prepared and paid for by the Republican Party of Minnesota and the HRCC. It is not coordinated with or approved by any candidate nor is any candidate responsible for it.” Not known is how many mailers were distributed in House District 26-A. The District, comprising most of Winona County, has 87,000 people and an estimated 27,000 households. The mailing list appears to have skipped households that voted Democratic in recent elections.