Jennifer Carnahan, the former chairwoman of the Republican Party of Minnesota, has announced she is running for Justin Eichorn’s seat in Senate District 6.

Eichorn resigned from his seat last week after being federally charged with soliciting sex from a minor.

Carnahan currently serves as the mayor of Nisswa.

“Running for the Minnesota Senate wasn’t something I planned on, but I’ve been encouraged and asked by many to run because the people in our area are tired of the same career politicians who come out of the woodwork and make big promises, but then forget about us,” she wrote in a prepared statement. “I’m running because we need one of us in the office. Someone who knows what it’s like to run a small business, take care of their family, has to work hard every single day to get ahead, and still worry about things like the cost of groceries, gas, and energy bills.”

Carnahan resigned as Minnesota GOP Chair in 2021 after Anton “Tony” Lazarro, whom she had close ties with, was federally charged with child sex trafficking. Lazarro was a prominent fundraiser and donor for the state’s Republican party.

The Minnesota DFL released a statement Monday morning responding to Carnahan’s candidacy, drawing a parallel between the Eichorn case and Carnahan’s relationship to Lazzaro.

“It’s disgraceful that the Minnesota GOP might replace a Senator who resigned after a child prostitution arrest with a former Minnesota GOP Chair who resigned because of her ties with a child sex trafficker,” DFL Executive Director Heidi Kraus Kaplan said.

In response, Carnahan distanced herself from Lazzaro, a former co-host on her podcast.

“He was one of 30,000 donors to the party and countless other Republican candidates, and the only person responsible for his crimes is him,” Carnahan said. “No one else was charged or implicated. Time to move on.”

RELATED: Former political donor, strategist sentenced to 21 years on sex trafficking charges

Carnahan is also the widow of U.S. Rep. Jim Hagedorn, who died at age 59 of kidney cancer in 2022.

A spokesperson for Gov. Tim Walz said he will call for a special election to fill Eichorn’s seat on Tuesday.

RELATED: Candidates begin filing candidacy for open Senate seat left by Justin Eichorn following resignation

Republicans Kari Heintzeman, a director for the Trump 2024 campaign and longtime volunteer with local and state GOP organizations – and Josh Gazelka, the son of former Senate Majority Leader Paul Gazelka, have announced their campaigns.

On the other side is DFLer Emily LeClaire, who previously ran for House District 6B.