Dems Tell Minnesota Rep. Kerry Gauthier To Forget Re-election Bid After Oral Sex With 17-Year-Old Boy

Rep. Kerry Gauthier, the Minnesota lawmaker who admitted to having oral sex with a 17-year-old boy at a rest stop in July, is being asked by party leaders to forget about his re-election bid.

Calls for Gauthier, 56, to bow out came this week though he hasn't been charged with the incident because the boy is over the age of consent. Police also told the media that the boy responded to Gauthier's Craigslist ad for "no strings attached." No money was exchanged.

Police said they encountered Gauthier, a first-term legislator, on July 22 after a "report of suspicious activity." They later found that the lawmaker and the minor had sex behind a rest stop pavilion in Duluth.

The teen admitted that Gauthier was a stranger to whom he lied about his age.

Gauthier hasn't commented on the incident, telling the Duluth News Tribune that the incident is "a private matter and I don't need to talk about it."

House Minority Leader Paul Thissen, who represents the Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party in Minneapolis, told the media that he was "deeply disappointed" in Gauthier's conduct.

"The conduct was wrong and no one in the DFL House Caucus condones the behavior," Thissen told the New York Daily News.

Thissen also told Fox News, "As I shared with Rep. Gauthier, I believe he should withdraw from the race for re-election."

Democratic Party Chairman Ken Martin also shared similar sentiments as Thissen with the media. However, neither has given the disgraced lawmaker a time for leaving office.