Fischbach’s 2020 CD7 Endorsement: A Masterclass in Insider Dirty Tricks, Harassment, and Rigged Party Power Plays

While Minnesota Republicans were fighting to flip CD7 from longtime Democrat Collin Peterson in May 2020, Michelle Fischbach and her establishment machine were busy orchestrating one of the sleaziest endorsing conventions in recent memory. What should have been a straightforward grassroots process to pick the strongest conservative challenger turned into an eight-ballot marathon plagued by technical sabotage, backroom maneuvering, and outright harassment - all pointing straight back to Fischbach’s inner circle.

The virtual Zoom convention was a disaster by design. Delegates reported repeated glitches, dropped connections, and chaos that conveniently dragged the process out until Fischbach could consolidate her insider support. Dave Hughes, the battle-tested Air Force veteran, endorsed by President Trump, who had already carried the Republican banner in 2016 and 2018, started strong with nearly 43% of the vote. But after round after round shenanigans, Fischbach finally squeaked through on the eighth ballot with roughly 65%. Grassroots conservatives smelled a rotting carp from the start.

The real scandal, however, came before the ballots even started. Fischbach’s own campaign manager and press secretary, Sam Winter, launched a relentless harassment campaign against Hughes, his wife, and their seven children. Between April 4 and April 27, 2020, Winter bombarded Hughes’ home phone and cell with more than 300 calls - including 60 calls in a single day. The timing was no coincidence: the calls were deliberately timed to interrupt Hughes’ virtual speeches at county conventions, cutting off his message to delegates mid-sentence. Hughes was forced to obtain a harassment restraining order against Winter through the Kittson County Sheriff’s Department. Winter was later hit with misdemeanor harassment charges, pled guilty, and was quietly forced out of the Fischbach campaign.

This wasn’t some rogue staffer acting alone. It was seemingly the campaign culture Fischbach cultivated - an anything-goes attitude from an insider who viewed the endorsement as her personal coronation rather than a fair fight. Hughes even filed a Federal Election Commission complaint accusing Fischbach of illegally coordinating with two PACs: one run by her mother (National Right to Life Victory Fund) and one run by her husband (Minnesota Citizens Concerned for Life Federal PAC). The pattern was clear: rules are for little people, and the Fischbach machine would bend or break them to protect establishment power.

Hughes refused to play along. He never endorsed Fischbach after the convention farce and took her on in the August primary anyway. The entire episode launched a shift in CD7’s leadership: once fair and impartial, it now seems controlled by connected insiders who preach unity, while stabbing principled conservatives in the back.

Fast-forward to today and nothing has changed. Fischbach 's minions work against grassroots organizing, illegitimately block the seating of delegates, block candidates from delegate lists and interfere with local conventions. Most recently, out-spoken Fischbach supporter, Tiffany Lesmeister-Knott, illegitimately took control over the CD7 Executive Committee, the bank account and Federal Election Committee filing portal.

What does the congress woman say? She still dodges real accountability, and still expects the grassroots to fall in line behind her. The 2020 CD7 endorsing convention wasn’t just “bumpy” - it was a blatant display of unethical, power-hungry politics that should disqualify Fischbach from ever claiming the mantle of conservative reformer.

True conservatives in CD7 deserve better than this kind of D.C.-style corruption. The party insiders who enabled it know exactly what they did. And the voters are starting to remember.