NORTH BRANCH, Minn. – State Senator Mark Koran, who has won election to a second Senate term, announced he will run for chair of the state Republican Party. The party, he said, needs an “overhaul.” Among GOP setbacks in the November election was the presidential race. Democrat Joe Biden took the state by four points over Donald Trump. Koran said the 2022 focus needs to be on the governorship. Tim Walz is eligible for another four-year term, but he has not said if he’s going to run. Koran, from North Branch on the state’s eastern border north of the Twin Cities, has a background in sales. He was elected to Senate in 2016. He chairs the Senate Technology Committee and advocates rural broadband expansion. If elected as Republican state chair, he said he would resign his Senate seat.
