The Republican Party of Minnesota (MNGOP) had a State Central Committee Convention; BPOU State Central Delegates and Alternates Converged on Saturday December 14th, 2024 and had State Party Leadership Elections.

The Elected Positions were State Party Chair, Deputy Chair, Secretary. The Candidates for each office ran separately and did not run as slates. The Treasurer is an appointed position.

RPM Chair

Alex Plechash, won the Chair position over the last Chair, David Hann on 3 Ballots.  chair@mngop.com

Alex Plechash was elected Chairman of the Republican Party of Minnesota in December 2024.  He is a first generation American who was a multi-sport student-athlete before gaining an appointment to the U.S. Naval Academy where he graduated with distinction, being the No. 1 Aerospace Engineer and Marine officer in his class after which he served out his military commitment as a Marine Corps fighter pilot.

After his military service, he built a successful career in business and finance while dedicating decades to veterans’ advocacy.  He has held top leadership positions in a host of organizations including being Chapter President and a National Trustee of the U.S. Naval Academy Alumni Association, President of the Twin Cities Council of the Navy League, Chairman of the USS Minnesota pre-commissioning task force, Governor-appointed Board Member and Finance Chair of the Perpich Center for the Arts, past President and Chairman of Tee it up for the Troops, and served as a church deacon, leading their largest outreach program.

He has served on the Wayzata City Council as well.

Alex has been involved at every level of the Minnesota Republican Party since attending his first precinct caucus in 2004.  He has lived a life of service and continues to do so now for the Republican Party.

RPM Deputy Chair

The State Party Deputy Chair Donna Bergstrom was elected in a very close race by 5 votes on two ballots.  deputychair@mngop.com

Donna M. Bergstrom was appointed Deputy Chair by Chairman Hann in October of 2021 upon his election to the chair position. She was elected to the position in December of 2021 by the State Central Committee. She lives in Duluth with her husband and son.

Donna graduated from the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities in 1985 with a degree in Political Science. She obtained her Master of Jurisprudence degree from Loyola University Chicago-School of Law (Civitas Center) in Children’s Law and Policy. She also holds a degree in American and Anishinaabe Education from the Fond du Lac Tribal and Community College.

Donna is a 20 year Veteran of the United States Marine Corps, achieving the grade of Lieutenant Colonel. She was one of the first two American Indian women in the state of Minnesota to run in the general election for Lieutenant Governor on a major party endorsed ticket. Donna is an enrolled member of the Red Lake Band of Chippewa Indians.

From the MNGOP.org Party Leadership page these are the remaining leaders of the party.

RPM Secretary

Joy Orvis was elected as the State Party Secretary. Her office email is secretary@mngop.com

Each Republican State Party Organization in all 50 States and the District of Columbia have a National Committeeman and Committeewoman.  This year the Republican Party of Minnesota has 2 new Committee People. The last Committeeman was Alex Plechash who was edged out by the current Committeeman AK Kamara at the 2024 State Central Convention which was held separate from the State Convention. The last Committeewoman was Barbara Sutter. She did not seek another term. The new Committeewoman is Emily Novotny Chance.

National Committeeman

AK Kamara

AK@mngop.com

AK Kamara creates content in both written and video form discussing political, cultural, and social issues. He’s a regular weekly guest on the Jon Justice radio show heard on AM1130 Twin Cities News Talk. He has gained over 150,000 followers across various social media platforms creating overtly Conservative political content.

Professionally, AK owns and operates a small courier business in the Twin Cities metro area.

Politically, AK was elected State Chairman of the Minnesota College Republicans. He has worked and volunteered with several campaigns for Governor, Senate, Congress, and many local elected offices. He has held various positions with several local Republican basic organizational units and has also worked for several ideologically conservative organizations. He is also member of Project 21, a group of black Americans who advocate for right of center policies. Most recently, he was elected to serve as Minnesota’s National Committeeman, representing our state on a national level at the RNC. He enjoys connecting with Republicans nationally and learning about new ways to help Republicans succeed in Minnesota.

AK is an active member of his community, belonging to both philanthropic and fraternal organizations. He and his wife reside in Forest Lake MN.

National Committeewoman

Emily Novotny Chance

Committeewoman@mngop.com

Emily Novotny Chance was elected Minnesota’s National Committeewoman in 2024 at 26.

She graduated from Augustana University in Sioux Falls, SD, majoring in political science and communications. As a lifelong Minnesotan, she has been an active volunteer in the MNGOP since the age of 14- creating deep connections and becoming a respected, tenacious worker. Emily’s first job in politics was as an intern on Congressman Tom Emmer’s first congressional campaign in 2014. She traveled the country as an Advance Staffer for President Trump in the 2020 campaign and continued to do events for him following his election.

Emily has been on her local republican board since 2015, served as the State Chair for the South Dakota College Republicans, worked in the Minnesota Legislature, campaigned for hundreds of candidates, and currently also serves as the Minnesota Young Republicans National Committeewoman.

Professionally, she currently works for a public affairs firm in Minneapolis and owns and operates Flamingo Events, her event-planning business. Emily, her husband Kent, and their cattle dog puppy reside in Elk River, MN, and are active church members.

The biographies are from the MNGOP.org/party-leadership page.  There were a couple of edits for clarity. — admin