n 2022, Royce White—a former first-round NBA draft pick and George Floyd protest leader—ran in the primary for Minnesota’s Fifth Congressional District as a far-right Republican and disciple of Steve Bannon. White lost—badly. This is probably because he was hard to take seriously as a candidate. White’s campaign centered less on issues affecting Minnesota voters and more on incendiary comments about the Chinese Communist Party, women, and Jews.

But, no quitter, White persisted. In an outsider campaign, he announced last year he would run for US Senate in 2024. This week—somehow—White won the endorsement of the Republican party to face Sen. Amy Klobuchar in Minnesota.