Cornish was elected to the Minnesota House of Representatives in 2002 and was re-elected in 2004, 2006, 2008, 2010, 2012, 2014, and 2016. Cornish had a history of treating staff and lobbyists very poorly during his tenure in the Minnesota House of Representatives. On November 27, 2017, Cornish submitted his letter of resignation, which became effective at 11:59 p.m. on November 30, 2017. In a letter, Cornish apologized to his fellow house members for "bringing a cloud over the House and my friends." He also submitted a letter that included a "wish list" for his replacement that went on to argue against anti cop bills and the need for legislative action that would push cops to obtain their own lability insurance.
In November 2017, state Rep. Erin Maye Quade and another woman, a lobbyist, accused Cornish of sexually harassing them. In response, Cornish said that his interaction with Maye Quade was taken out of context and meant as a friendly, joking exchange. He said the incidents in his office alleged by the lobbyist never happened, though he admitted that he did send her a string of text messages soliciting sex. House SpeakerKurt Daudt suspended Cornish as chairman of the Public Safety Committee following the allegations. Subsequently, former House Speaker Kurt Zellers said that during his time as speaker from 2011 to 2012 he had confronted Cornish about sexually harassing women at the State Capitol and called for him to resign. In interviews with MPR News, 25 people who worked with or around Cornish the past seven years described alleged unwanted sexual advances to unwanted flirtatious contact.
Personal life
Cornish resides in Vernon Center. He is divorced, has three children, and is affiliated with the Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod. In 1990, a Koochiching County judge granted Cornish’s ex-wife, Mary, a domestic abuseprotection order against him. They had divorced two years earlier. A copy of the one-year protection order, dated July 23, 1990, offers scant details of the circumstances, saying only that “the evidence justifies issuance of the order.” He is the uncle of former Minnesota Governor Jesse Ventura's wife, Terry.
Electoral history
2010 Minnesota State Representative District 24B Statewide Voter Turnout TBD % Tony Cornish, 9621 votes, 63% Joan Muth-Milks, 3417 votes, 22% Mark D. Meyer, 2242 votes, 15% Write-In, 9 votes, 0.05% 2008 Minnesota State Representative District 24B Statewide Voter Turnout 78.49% Tony Cornish, 10275 votes, 51.18% John Branstad, 9781 votes, 48.72% Write-In, 10 votes, 0.10% 2006 Minnesota State Representative District 24B Statewide Voter Turnout 60.46% Tony Cornish, 9108 votes, 54.34% Jim Peterson, 7636 votes, 45.56% Write-In, 16 votes, 0.10% 2004 Minnesota State Representative District 24B Statewide Voter Turnout 78.77% Tony Cornish, 12416 votes, 60.27% Terry Clodfelter, 8172 votes, 39.67% Write-In, 13 votes, 0.06% 2002 Minnesota State Representative District 24B Statewide Voter Turnout 64.89% Tony Cornish, 8959 votes, 51.60% Sandy Lorenz, 8388 votes, 48.31% Write-In, 16 votes, 0.09%
