By Mike Biundo (Partner)
I’ve been in the political trenches a long time—as a former state representative in New Hampshire and consultant through ten presidential campaigns, I’ve worked with great people in places like Minnesota. I’ve felt the heat of campaigns, the clash of ideas, and the grit of public service. Politics is a tough game, but it’s supposed to be fought with words, not weapons. The recent killings in Minnesota hit like a gut punch, part of a string of violence against Democrats, Republicans, you name it—that’s starting to feel way too normal. We can’t let that happen.
In Minnesota, State Rep Melissa Hortman and her husband, Mark, were gunned down, and State Senator John Hoffman and his wife, Yvette, were wounded. Governor Walz called it “politically motivated.” The suspect, Vance Boelter, had a hit list of Democratic officials. That’s not just a crime; it’s a wake-up call.
This isn’t a one-off. In Pennsylvania, Governor Josh Shapiro and his family had to bolt from their burning home in April 2025 after an arsonist, Cody Balmer, torched it, aiming to hurt Shapiro over some twisted gripe tied to the Israel-Hamas mess. Last year, Donald Trump dodged two assassination attempts—one in July 2024 at a Pennsylvania rally, where a bullet came within inches of killing him. A bystander died, and another, in September at his Florida golf course, was stopped by the Secret Service. Nobody’s safe.
Rewind to 2017. Steve Scalise, a friend to many in Congress, was nearly killed when a gunman opened fire on a Republican baseball practice in Virginia. Only the Capitol Police saved the day, but Scalise’s recovery was brutal. That same year, Rand Paul got jumped by a neighbor in Kentucky, left with busted ribs. The guy’s anti-Trump, anti-GOP rants pointed to politics as the spark.
Most recently, our client, Congresswoman Kat Cammack, has been facing a string of death threats and threats of violence when she spoke out about her struggle to get care when facing a life-threatening ectopic pregnancy. Her office had to be evacuated due to credible threats against herself, her unborn child, her family, and her staff from pro-abortion activists.
These aren’t random. They are signs we’re sliding somewhere dark. A 2023 poll said 23% of Americans think violence might be needed to “save” the country, up from 15% two years before. It’s the cumulative weight of our toxic mix—heated rhetoric, social media pile-ons, 24-hour cable news shouting matches, and echo chambers—that’s turning disagreements into battle lines.
I’ve spent decades in this arena, from New Hampshire’s State House to campaign war rooms. I get it—sharp words win votes, spicy takes get clicks. But we’re playing with fire. Republicans, Democrats, pundits —we’ve all got to cool it. We don’t have to agree, in fact, we shouldn’t agree, but we’ve got to keep it sane. Call out the crazies on your side first. Hold the megaphones—media, social platforms, cable news—accountable when they fan the flames.
Our country is hurting, and the loss of Melissa Hortman and her husband cuts deep. This is our chance to come together—Republicans, Democrats, all of us—to reject violence and solve this crisis. We owe it to them, to ourselves, to say enough is enough. Let’s fight with ideas, not fists or worse. We’ve done it before. We can do it again.
