MINNEAPOLIS — Minnesota's political establishment was rocked this week after a candidate for Congress floated what experts are calling a dangerously novel concept: stop stealing Minnesota's money.

The idea was introduced by John Nagel, a retired Minnesota state trooper with 30 years of law-enforcement experience, who won the Republican primary in Minnesota's 5th Congressional District and will challenge Democratic Rep. Ilhan Omar in November.

Nagel has made government fraud and misuse of taxpayer money the centerpiece of his campaign, arguing that voters are tired of the state's recent scandals and want someone focused on cleaning them up. The argument has been met in some quarters with alarm, with analysts noting that running on not committing fraud has historically been considered so obviously desirable as to not require a campaign at all.

To illustrate the point, Nagel has highlighted the Feeding Our Future fraud scandal, which involved fraudulent claims for federal child-nutrition reimbursements during the COVID-19 pandemic. Among the cases cited in Fox News reporting is that of Guhaad Hashi Said, a former Omar campaign staffer, who pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud and money laundering after prosecutors alleged a food site he operated received nearly $3 million while serving only a fraction of the meals it claimed.

The reporting also notes Omar's past promotion of Safari Restaurant as a pandemic meal-distribution site. The restaurant's co-owner Salim Said was later convicted in the Feeding Our Future case, with prosecutors alleging the site obtained more than $16 million in fraudulent child-nutrition funds. The restaurant had also hosted Omar's 2018 election-night party. Omar has denied knowing about the fraud and has called suggestions that she did flat-out false.

Nagel argues Minnesota Democrats have failed to adequately confront fraud and says his campaign is aimed at voters across party lines frustrated with government dysfunction, taxes, schools and the state's economy. The challenge remains steep, as the district, which includes Minneapolis and several inner-ring suburbs, is rated Solid D by the Cook Political Report, a rating that typically indicates voters will need to be persuaded that not stealing is, in fact, a partisan position.

Political scientists say they will be watching closely to see whether Minnesota is ready for such an experiment.