Ex-NBA player WINS GOP Senate primary in Minnesota - despite blowing $100,000 of donations on strip clubs and clothes in previous election bid
- White was once a first-round pick in the NBA draft before his career was derailed
- He has since become a conservative firebrand in Minnesota politics
- READ MORE: Republican claims his $1,232 donor-funded all-nude strip club bill
Royce White, the former first-round NBA Draft pick and Iowa State star, won his GOP senate primary in Minnesota over Navy veteran Joe Fraser.
Now the populist conservative will challenge Democrat Amy Kloubuchar for her senate seat this November.
White's campaign was plagued by allegations of misogyny, homophobia and anti-Semitism and in 2022 said Jews use the holocaust to 'provide a victimhood cover for their own corrupt practices.'
What's more, the anti-corruption crusader once used campaign funds from his doomed 2022 House race to pay for an all-night hangout at a Miami strip club – something he blames on a staffer who 'used the wrong card,' as he told DailyMail.com in May. In total, White blew more than $100,000 in campaign dollars on strippers, clothing and mysterious wire transfers, according to FEC filings.
Despite the negative press, White still won 38 percent of votes to Fraser's 29 percent in what many saw as a battle for the direction of Minnesota's GOP. White also won the party's nomination at the GOP convention in May.
Republican candidate for Senate Royce White (C) poses for a photo before a rally
White seen playing in Ice Cube's Big3 league with a message in support of Alex Jones
White, a long-time guest on conspiracy theorist Alex Jones' talk show, toasted his win by attacking globalism and vowing to never 'sell out.'
'We face an enemy that intends to bastardize our citizenship through an idea called globalism,' White said on his campaign website. 'We must begin to understand how the global affects the local and take a stand for God, Family, and Country.
'I have fought against the corporate community responsible for this globalist agenda. Send me to Washington so I can continue that fight on the Senate floor in the swamp.'
White was Minnesota's Mr. Basketball as a high school senior in 2009 while leading Hopkins High to an undefeated season.
He accepted a scholarship to the University of Minnesota but quickly dropped out after pleading guilty to disorderly conduct and theft for taking $100 worth of clothes and allegedly pushing a mall security officer to the ground.
White then transferred to Iowa State, where he quickly became one of the most dynamic players in the country.
Although he was never a great shooter, the 6-foot-8 power forward grabbed 9.3 rebounds a game while scoring 13.4 points and adding another five assists a night.
White was so skilled as a ball handler and passer that he was taken by the Houston Rockets with the 16th pick of the 2012 NBA Draft.
Angelic is the mother of two of White's kids. White also has two children with other women
Unfortunately for White, who has been open about battling mental health issues, things did not work out in the NBA.
Due to his intense fear of flying, the Rockets agreed to allow White to travel by bus. Still, he missed several practices and refused an assignment to the club's G-League affiliate.
Long-time NBA executive Daryl Morey, the man who picked White with the Rockets, has described him as 'the worst first-round pick ever,' and that may not be an exaggeration.
White would move on to the Philadelphia 76ers and Sacramento Kings, but managed to appear in only three NBA games while failing to score a single point.
Since then he's played professionally in Canada and Ice Cube's Big3 league, where he recently appeared with Donald Trump's name written on the side of his head. He's even flirted with an MMA career.
But White's primary focus these days has become conservative politics and his mission of drawing more voters of color to the Republican party.
The obstacle for White has been his past statements on any number of issues, including women.
'Look, let's just be frank,' White once told podcaster and MAGA enthusiast Steve Bannon. 'Women have become too mouthy. As the black man in the room, I'll say that.'
A power forward who frequently handled the ball on the perimeter, White was a star at ISU
He doubled down on the remark in June.
Meanwhile, the Republican Jewish Coalition has condemned White over accusations of anti-Semitism.
White, who once facetiously referred to himself online as anti-Semitic, rejected that label in a July post on X.
'You can't be antisemitic when you pray to a Jewish carpenter every morning for salvation,' he wrote. 'Jesus Is King! Every knee will bow and every tongue will confess! Stop hiding Christians, stop letting them shame you and bully you. Rise up and throw this anti-Christian culture off.'
Even White's grandfather Frank has expressed skepticism about the former NBA player's political leanings.
'I'm proud of my grandson, but do I agree with his politics? No,' Frank White told Mother Jones in 2022. 'He told me, 'Hey grandpa, I'm going to be on Steve Bannon's podcast.' I said, 'Do you know who Steve Bannon is, man?'
White appears in a BIg3 game with a message in support of the late George Floyd
'There's no way I can support my grandson supporting the GOP, and in essence, Trump,' he continued. 'This is a guy who wants to be a dictator. Think about what that means. You're a person of color. Do you think you fit in his plans?'
White has also faced allegations of domestic abuse.
His ex-wife and mother of his two children Angelic Aguilar Suggs was granted a protection order after she said that over the first five months of their marriage he 'has been physically and verbally violent, and he has inflicted and threatened physical harm upon me.'
Royce was 22 at the time and his wife was 25. She said they had been together 'on and off' for eight years. Royce's mother was living with them at the time of their marriage.
Angelic asked for Royce to only have 'supervised' time with their children due to fear for their safety. She said she had not disclosed where she was living to Royce out of fear for safety.
While they lived in Pennsylvania when Royce was playing for the Philadelphia 76ers, Elizabeth said Royce 'forbid me to leave the house for any reason unless | was given his permission.'
'I was not allowed access to a vehicle and little access to money. Respondent's mother was allowed to drive me places but only if Respondent approved.'
She said his anger had 'raged out of control' on many occasions, had threatened to kill her, and hit her.
Royce and Angelic live together and co-parent their children to this day. 'The reconciliation between me and her surely shows that we we don't have a violent relationship, okay, if we did, I think that would, that would probably reflect some 10 years later,' he said.
White faces other challenges with female voters, including previous comments referring to women as 'b****es,' 'whores' and 'c***s.'
'The saying happy wife happy life this is gateway cuckism,' White said in another post.
White will now hope to sway enough voters to beat Klobuchar on November 5.
