Julie Blaha, Minnesota's first-term DFL state auditor, has tested positive for COVID-19.
She is experiencing mild symptoms and has started a five-day quarantine following guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control, according to a tweet from her office on Tuesday.
Blaha, who is running for a second term this fall, will have to miss the state DFL Party's endorsing convention in Rochester on Saturday. She is not facing a challenger within her own party. Republicans endorsed attorney Ryan Wilson to challenge Blaha at their state convention last weekend.
COVID cases are on the rise in Minnesota as the fast-spreading BA.2.12.1 variant of the virus continues to surge through the population, but hospitals are reporting mostly mild infections.
Minnesota DFL House Speaker Melissa Hortman also recently tested positive for COVID-19 and went into isolation. Gov. Tim Walz tested positive for the virus late last year.
