State representative, auditor candidate Elliott Engen arrested on suspicion of DWI
Elliott Engen, a Republican state representative from White Bear Township and a candidate for Minnesota state auditor, was arrested on suspicion of drunken driving early Friday morning, police say.
According to the White Bear Lake Police Department, officers pulled over Engen, 27, just before 2 a.m. near the intersection of Fourth Street and Otter Lake Road for a speeding violation. The vehicle also had an expired registration and a faulty headlight.
Engen was booked on suspicion of driving while impaired, and a breath test taken at the White Bear Lake police station registered a blood alcohol content of 0.13. He was booked into the Ramsey County Jail on suspicion of fourth-degree DWI and has since been released. He has yet to be formally charged.
Engen apologized for his conduct in a statement released Friday afternoon.
“To my family, colleagues and constituents. I am deeply sorry. I strive to be a man of great character, and my actions fell short last night. I will learn from this. I will do better,” Engen said.
House Speaker Lisa Demuth, R-Cold Spring, said she was “extremely disappointed to learn of Rep. Engen’s arrest.”
“I will be working to gather information about the circumstances of his arrest and charges and will address this directly with Rep. Engen and consider further consequences as the legal process unfolds,” Demuth said.
With the rules that House representatives set for themselves, there is no mention of alcohol, but it does say complaints — which can lead to expelling a lawmaker — can be filed for conduct that brings dishonor and betrays public trust.
“There’s not a specific policy about drinking on the job for state legislators,” said University of Minnesota political science professor Larry Jacobs.
Still, he adds there’s an expectation legislators meet the highest ethical standards.
“The trust of Minnesotans in politicians is near an all-time low, and so when you’ve got a story like this that’s really raising questions about the ethics, the reputation of members of the legislature. It just, it hurts,” Jacobs added.
A midday drink break?
Engen and another Republican lawmaker appeared to be drinking alcohol in the middle of the day Thursday, in between conducting official legislative business.
Brian Basham, a former writer for Minnesota House of Representatives Information Services, snapped a photo of Engen and Rep. Walter Hudson, R-Albertville, seated at Burger Moe’s in St. Paul within an hour of the 3:30 p.m. House floor session, which they both attended.
The lawmakers were drinking beers and had also ordered cocktails, Basham said.
5 EYEWITNESS NEWS has reached out to Hudson for comment and is awaiting a response.
Earlier, Engen and Hudson were both present at the House Education Finance Committee’s biweekly meeting. They both skipped out about halfway through.
The meeting began at 1 p.m. A recording shows Engen leaving 50 minutes in. About 15 minutes later, Hudson had also left the room, right before the committee took up an item regarding student absenteeism.
‘Drunk at the wheel’
With Engen’s arrest, he now has one more thing in common with DFL auditor candidate and state Rep. Dan Wolgamott of St. Cloud, who pleaded guilty to a DWI offense in 2023.
When Wolgamott announced he was running for auditor last September, Engen took a dig at his opponent’s past DWI conviction.
“The DFL has been drunk at the wheel in protecting taxpayers from systemic fraud,” he wrote in a social media post.
Engen later featured news coverage of Wolgamott’s DWI case in a video announcing his campaign.
