Conservative populist and former NBA player Royce White defeated Navy veteran Joe Fraser in Minnesota's primary election for the Republican nomination on Tuesday and will challenge Democratic Sen. Amy Klobuchar in November.

White was a first-round pick by the Houston Rockets in 2012 but never played for the team after disclosing mental health issues and saying he did not want to fly to road games with the team. He signed multiple 10-day contacts with the Sacramento Kings in 2013, playing in three games, but was eventually let go before playing overseas for several years.

The 33-year-old White, who was an outspoken advocate for mental health awareness in sports, also considered a future in mixed martial arts but lost his only professional fight in 2021.

White has made a number of social media comments that have been denounced as derogatory. White, who ran and lost in the GOP primary for a U.S. House seat in 2022, argues that, as a Black candidate, he can broaden the party's base by appealing to voters of color in the Minneapolis-St. Paul area and others disillusioned with establishment politics.

He is expected to be a big underdog to Klobuchar, who has served as a senator since 2007.

Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.