WACONIA, Minn. — Around 4 p.m. on Tuesday afternoon, televisions at Hopper's Bar and Grill in Waconia carried an important message about the biggest political story in the country:
BREAKING NEWS: REP. EMMER DROPS OUT AS SPEAKER NOMINEE
"He's already dropped out? Oh... my... gosh," a constituent named Judy said from her seat on the outdoor patio. "That's disappointing."
After earning the private GOP nomination earlier in the day, Minnesota Rep. Tom Emmer's bid to replace ousted former Speaker Kevin McCarthy collapsed in a matter of hours, leaving the Republican Party in disarray and voters in the 6th Congressional District struggling to make sense of the fast chain of events involving their member of Congress. Emmer, who took office in 2015 as Michele Bachmann's replacement, has been comfortably reelected four times in this district, which covers portions of the outer Twin Cities suburbs extending all the way north of St. Cloud.
In Waconia, a city of 13,000 on the far eastern edge of the 6th Congressional District, reactions varied to the news of Emmer's failed attempt to become the first speaker in history from the state of Minnesota. Some expressed dismay or frustration, while others said they were Democrats or had not personally voted for him.
One man sitting at a bar in Waconia said he did not even know who Rep. Emmer was.
The constituent Judy, meanwhile, spoke for many in the district by expressing her support for Emmer. She said she thought he would have made a great speaker of the House.
"Because he was direct and a grassroots person here in the state of Minnesota," Judy said. "I know a number of people in my area — Hollywood Township — who personally promoted him and financed him because they respected him so much."
Emmer, the third-highest GOP member of the House as the majority whip, emerged from the nomination process on Tuesday with strong Republican support, including the backing of McCarthy. In the Minnesota delegation, Rep. Brad Finstad said Emmer "has the trust and respect necessary to lead the People's House," while Rep. Pete Stauber said, "The American people deserve a Congress that works for them" under the leadership of Emmer.
Even Democratic Rep. Dean Phillips, who is eyeing his own presidential primary run, said he "would sit-out the speaker vote if Tom Emmer will fund our government at negotiated levels, bring Ukraine and Israel aid bills to the floor, and commit to rules changes to make Congress work for the people."
Ultimately, though, Emmer's prospects for the speakership faded when former President Donald Trump issued a scathing attack on Truth Social, in which he called Emmer a "Globalist RINO" or "Republican in Name Only." Trump then reportedly started making calls to lawmakers in an attempt to "kill" Emmer's bid. Although Emmer has largely aligned with Trump in the past, going so far as to even support his post-election litigation, he did vote to certify the 2020 election results.
"The fact that Tom Emmer was not far right enough for House Republicans," Minnesota DFL Chair Ken Martin said, "is a sign of just how extreme the Republican Party has become."
Meanwhile, Amy Koch, a native of the 6th Congressional District and former Minnesota Senate GOP leader, described feeling "a lot of disappointment" about the whole situation involving Emmer. Koch has known Emmer for years, having served with him in the state legislature.
"Disappointed for Tom; disappointed for what could have been and for Minnesota, and then it's like, there's a profound disappointment for my party," Koch said. "As this speaker fiasco draws out, we can't come together and be reasonable. We're just tearing each other down."
Koch likened Trump's hold on certain elements of the GOP to a "weird adhesion to anything that has to do with him."
"All of the things that are going on, with the budget, the economy, with Ukraine and Israel, all the big things that are happening right now in the world and your focus is to support one man? That's not what America is about," Koch said. "I don't understand. It doesn't bode well for the party and it doesn't bode well for the American system because if we don't have a functioning Republican Party or two-party system, we're in trouble. And right now, the GOP is not functioning."
Republicans have now gone a full three weeks without a permanent speaker.
"I'm very disappointed. Even though I'm a Republican, they don't seem to be more focused on accomplishing things," Judy in Waconia said after learning her party would have to look for yet another speaker. "Maybe we should pick an Independent. I don't know."
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