Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison got caught on tape calling voters “bigots and racists,” then denied saying it to the man he was talking to — on camera, during a live debate.
Quick Take
- A September 22 video shows Ellison asking whether “the bigots and the racists” will show up to vote against him.
- His opponent, Ron Schutz, says the remark targeted his supporters, including his wife, kids, friends, and 93-year-old mother.
- During an October 16 debate, Schutz read Ellison’s own words back to him. Ellison still denied saying them.
- Conservative media and social media accounts have spread the clip, accusing Ellison of lying to voters’ faces.
What Ellison Actually Said On Tape
At a September 22 campaign event, Ellison framed Minnesota’s attorney general race as a “base election,” meaning whoever turns out their own voters wins. He then asked a pointed question about which side would show up. “Will the people who believe in the equality of human beings, in the dignity of all human beings, show up and vote?” Ellison said. “Or will the bigots and the racists show up and vote?”
That framing left little room for interpretation. Ellison split Minnesota voters into two camps: his own supporters, described as champions of “freedom and justice, compassion and mercy,” and everyone backing his Republican-aligned opponent, lumped in with “bigots” and “racists.” It’s the kind of language that tells conservative and independent voters exactly how the sitting attorney general views them.
Schutz Confronts Ellison On Live Television
Ron Schutz, Ellison’s opponent in the attorney general race, took the attack personally. During a live PBS debate on October 16, Schutz said Ellison had called his supporters racists and bigots, naming his own family members as examples. “Keith Ellison recently called my supporters racist and bigots,” Schutz said. “And those include my wife, my children, my friends and my 93-year-old mother.”
Schutz pressed further, telling Ellison directly that he had branded anyone not voting for him as bigoted. “You called anybody who’s not voting for you a racist and a bigot, Keith, you did it, you can’t deny it,” Schutz said during the broadcast. It was a direct, public confrontation, not a secondhand allegation buried in a press release.
Ellison Denies It Despite Being Read His Own Words
Ellison refused to accept Schutz’s characterization. He accused Schutz of twisting his statement rather than owning what he actually said on video. “I’m not going to buy into your deliberate misconstruction of what I said,” Ellison told Schutz, later repeating the word “misconstruing” to describe the pushback.
The problem for Ellison is that the video exists and his words are not in dispute. The recording clearly shows him using the terms “bigots” and “racists” to describe people who might turn out to vote against him. Whether he meant every single Republican or independent, or a narrower slice of voters, the plain language still singled out his opponent’s side using slurs, not policy arguments.
Online Reaction Spreads Fast
Clips of the exchange spread quickly across social media after the debate aired. One widely shared post described Ellison being “asked to apologize for calling Republicans and Independents racists and bigots” and then denying it happened “despite Ron Schutz reading Ellison’s statement verbatim to him.” Another post from late September had already flagged the original remark, accusing Ellison of smearing his opponent’s entire base.
Keith Ellison Denies He Called Republicans and Independents Racists and Bigots, but It's on Video https://t.co/Hp6FoQVuYz
— Susan A Stamp (@SusanAStam143) October 19, 2026
Ellison has a long public history, including past comments on bigotry and race dating back to his years in Congress. But that history doesn’t change what happened here: a sitting attorney general used the words “bigots” and “racists” to describe voters backing his opponent, then denied doing so when confronted with his own recorded statement. For conservative and independent Minnesotans, the tape speaks louder than the denial.
Sources:
townhall.com, x.com, pbs.org, nbcnews.com
