A Republican contender for Minnesota governor has suspended his campaign after his 22-year-old daughter was found stabbed to death in her home.
St. Cloud police said they discovered Hallie Marie Tobler, the daughter of Jeff Johnson, on Feb. 7 after responding to a reported medical emergency at a locked apartment. She was pronounced dead at the scene, and a preliminary autopsy indicates she died from multiple stab wounds.
Her husband, Dylan Michael Tobler, 23, was found inside the residence with stab wounds.
“Based on the investigation, it is believed that (Dylan’s) injuries are self-inflicted and that he is the person responsible for Hallie’s injuries and death,” the St. Cloud Police Department said in a news release summarizing its preliminary findings.
Dylan Tobler remains in police custody in stable condition and is expected to face charges over his wife’s death.
Johnson, a former St. Cloud city councilman who had been seeking the Republican nomination for governor this year. Johnson withdrew from the race following the news of his daughter’s death.
“There are no words that can adequately express the sorrow we feel for Jeff and his family,” the Minnesota Republican Party said in a statement on Feb. 9. “The loss of a child is unimaginable, and our thoughts and prayers are with them as they grieve this devastating tragedy.”
“Out of respect for his family and the enormity of this loss, Jeff has suspended his campaign for Governor of Minnesota,” the party added, asking Minnesotans to “lift up the Johnson family during this incredibly painful time.”
Johnson—whose campaign website notes that he is not to be confused with the former Hennepin County commissioner and two-time Republican gubernatorial nominee with the same name—was one of a dozen candidates in a crowded primary field.
He finished near the bottom in a straw poll conducted this past week during the party’s precinct caucuses, where more than 18,000 Republicans cast preference ballots for governor and selected delegates for the state convention later this spring.
Minnesota state Rep. Lisa Demuth, who won the straw poll with nearly 32 percent of the vote, offered condolences to the Johnson family.
“As a parent, I can’t imagine the grief and devastation they’re experiencing now,” she said in a statement. ”Please join me in keeping the Johnsons in our thoughts and prayers as they navigate a situation that no family should have to endure.”
Expressions of sympathy followed across the political spectrum. Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), who overwhelmingly won her party’s caucus straw poll for governor, wrote on X: “My condolences to Jeff Johnson and his entire family for the loss of their daughter on Saturday night. John and I are praying for all those who loved her during this unimaginably difficult time.”
Johnson was not the only Republican dropping out of the Minnesota gubernatorial race on Feb. 9. Scott Jensen, the Republican nominee for governor in 2022, announced the same day he was abandoning his bid and would instead run for state auditor.
Jensen lost to Gov. Tim Walz, a Democrat, by 7.7 percentage points in the 2022 gubernatorial election. Walz has declined to run for reelection.
