Christopher Rocco – A delegate who proposed a moment of silence for convicted former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin at the Minnesota Republican convention in Duluth later filed to run for a state Senate seat, as the convention chair allowed the motion to proceed.
For a brief pause on a convention floor in Duluth, Christopher Rocco asked delegates to recognize Derek Chauvin.
The moment came Saturday, May 30, during the Minnesota Republican convention. Chauvin, a former Minneapolis police officer, is currently serving a prison term after his conviction for murdering George Floyd in May 2020.
Rocco made the motion for a moment of silence. Minnesota GOP convention chair state Rep. Danny Nadeau, R-Rogers, allowed the motion to proceed. After delegates observed the brief silence. Rocco said Chauvin should get a retrial and a pardon for a related federal civil rights conviction. He later told the Minnesota Reformer he planned to run for office.
Less than a week after the convention floor moment, Rocco filed Tuesday under the mononym “Rocco” as a Republican candidate for Senate District 65, which includes St. Paul and West St. Paul. Two DFL candidates also filed for the open seat.
The timing is what drew attention: the proposal for the silence happened on May 30. in a public GOP setting. and the campaign filing followed on Tuesday. The sequence leaves voters with the same question—what does a candidate’s public actions at a party convention signal about what they would prioritize in the state Senate?.
As Rocco prepares his run for Senate District 65, the contrast is hard to miss. Chauvin’s prison sentence is tied to the May 2020 conviction in George Floyd’s killing. And in the days that followed. Rocco’s stated position—calling for a retrial and a pardon—has now landed in the same political spotlight as his bid for office.
Minnesota Republican convention Derek Chauvin Christopher Rocco state Senate District 65 Danny Nadeau Duluth moment of silence George Floyd