Jon Grunseth

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Jon Rieder Grunseth (born November 11, 1945) is an American businessman and former Minnesota politician. He was the 1990 Independent-Republican Party nominee for governor. He had the party’s endorsement and won the primary, but withdrew from the race nine days before Election Day after a scandal.

Grunseth was the Vice President of Public Affairs at Ecolab and chaired the Chemical Specialties Manufacturers Association. After the scandal, he lost his job at Ecolab and later moved to Australia to run a cherry-growing operation.

In 1974, he was the Republican Party’s endorsed candidate for Minnesota’s 6th congressional district, but he lost to Rick Nolan, 55% to 45%.

In 1990, Grunseth defeated Arne Carlson for the Independent-Republican nomination to oppose incumbent Rudy Perpich. On October 14, 1990, public allegations of sexual misconduct were raised.

The controversy began with a July 4, 1981 pool party at Grunseth’s home. It was alleged that his daughter swam naked and Grunseth joined her, and that he tried to pull swimsuits off two other girls who were at the party. Nine attendees later gave affidavits about nude swimming, and two members of the band that performed that night said they remembered seeing people swimming naked. The party controversy split the party, with some defending Grunseth and others backing Carlson or another candidate. A U.S. senator attempted to keep Grunseth in the race, but the split helped undermine him.

Grunseth admitted past adultery but said he had changed and had been faithful to his wife since their 1984 marriage. A former mistress also claimed she had sexual relations with him in Washington, D.C., as recently as 1989. Facing defeat, Grunseth withdrew on October 28, 1990. Carlson replaced him on the ballot and defeated Perpich.

Afterward, Grunseth was fired by Ecolab. In 1993 he sued the Marriott hotel chain over records related to a 1989 stay, but the court ruled against him.

He later moved to Barnes Bay on Bruny Island, Tasmania, Australia, where he started Lennonville Orchards, a large cherry operation. He later lived in France, and as of 2022, he lives in the Hebrides, Scotland.