Anti-fraud GOP candidate for Minnesota governor suspends campaign after daughter's savage murder

Former St. Cloud City Councilman Jeff Johnson, a Republican candidate for governor in Minnesota, suspended his campaign on Monday after his 22-year-old daughter was savagely stabbed to death.

The Republican Party of Minnesota confirmed Johnson was dropping out and stressed that the group is "heartbroken by the tragic loss of Dr. Jeff Johnson's daughter, who was killed in a violent crime Saturday night in St. Cloud."

"There are no words that can adequately express the sorrow we feel for Jeff and his family," continued the Minnesota GOP. "The loss of a child is unimaginable, and our thoughts and prayers are with them as they grieve this devastating tragedy."

The City of St. Cloud Police Department indicated that officers responded on Saturday evening to a report of a medical emergency at the apartment of Johnson's daughter, Hallie Marie Tobler, where they found her dead with multiple stab wounds.

'Join us in lifting up the Johnson family.'

Dylan Tobler, her 23-year-old husband, was also found at the scene with life-threatening injuries that police believe to have been self-inflicted. Although initially taken to St. Cloud Hospital for treatment, police indicated Dylan Tobler — who is now in stable condition — will later be transported to the Stearns County Jail, "where he will be held for court on charges related to the homicide."

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Stephen M. Katz/South Florida Sun-Sentinel/Tribune News Service via Getty Images

Last month, Dylan Tobler pleaded guilty to disorderly conduct in connection to a June 2025 incident in which he choked his wife, reported the Duluth News Tribune.

By Tuesday, Johnson's campaign page had been stripped down to its header.

The former councilman, who served for two terms in the 2010s, announced his candidacy for governor in March 2025, vowing to tackle Minnesota's fraud and crime problems, keep businesses from fleeing the Gopher State, work with federal agencies to combat illegal immigration, and stand up to radicalism from the left.

"Quite frankly, Minnesota has been operating in full crisis mode under Gov. Tim Walz for years," Johnson said at the time in an interview with the St. Cloud Times.

The Minnesota GOP asked for residents of the state "to join us in lifting up the Johnson family during this incredibly painful time."

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