Former NBA player Royce White will take on Klobuchar for Senate seat

Former NBA player Royce White won the Republican Senate primary to take on Democrat Sen. Amy Klobuchar in Minnesota, according to a projection from Decision Desk HQ.

White, backed by the state GOP, emerged from a crowded field of candidates jockeying to go up against the Democrat incumbent, including business executive Joe Fraser. 

White reportedly boasts allies in ex-Trump aide Steve Bannon and conspiracy theorist Alex Jones, and entered Tuesday’s contest as the top fundraiser, according to Federal Election Commission filings. Fraser was backed by former Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty (R) and former Republican Minnesota Sens. Rudy Boschwitz and Norm Coleman, as reported by MPR News. The Senate Republicans’ campaign arm has yet to get involved in the race. 

Across the aisle, Klobuchar was expected to defeat a handful of long-shot challengers to win her party’s nomination, and White now faces an uphill climb to oust her as she seeks her fourth term in the upper chamber. 

A forecast from Decision Desk HQ testing Klobuchar over Fraser put her at a 95 percent chance of winning her seat in a head-to-head. Cook Political Report rates it a solid Democratic seat.