Minnesota Republicans elect a flat-earther to a party leadership post
By: Christopher Ingraham - April 16, 2025 10:27 am

In March, Republicans in Minnesota’s 7th Congressional District chose Bret Bussman, a Browerville veteran with a slim political resume, to chair the party in the district. Bussman ousted longtime 7th District chair Craig Bishop, a staffer for U.S. Rep. Michelle Fischbach, in a contest that far-right activist group Action 4 Liberty characterized as a “MASSIVE rebuke on the corrupt, anti-grassroots, and anti-liberty tactics CD7 has used to protect RINO politicians,” meaning, “Republicans in Name Only.”

Many of Bussman’s views have become commonplace on the fringes of the Republican party, including vaccine skepticism, election denial, January 6 revisionism and a general hostility toward established science. But a Reformer review of Bussman’s social media accounts finds that he has espoused many outlandish conspiracy theories that go well beyond standard conservative activist fare.

He has posted about “satanic chemtrails” in the skies above Minnesota. He has argued that the collapse of a World Trade Center building during the 9/11 terror attacks was the result of a “controlled demolition,” and that a “cruise missile,” rather than American Airlines Flight 77, struck the Pentagon that day. He has shared multiple videos arguing that the moon landings were faked, and that more recent footage of astronauts aboard the International Space Station was faked as well. He has shared with followers a video entitled “5 Reasons Why I BELIEVE in the Flat Earth (And You Should Too!),” as well as numerous other videos claiming that the earth is flat.

Bussman’s elevation to a leadership position is part of a statewide pattern that alarms longtime Republican activists: The party is allowing itself to be taken over by the fringe, lowering the odds of victory in future statewide elections. “It’s bad for Republicans who want to win,” said Michael Brodkorb, former deputy chair of the Minnesota GOP who has vehemently opposed the party’s embrace of Donald Trump and figures like him, going so far as to publicly endorse Kamala Harris last year. “This is what happens when party leadership opens the gates of the insane asylum, and people come in off the streets and the inmates run it.”