Local Republicans re-endorse domestic violence poster child Mark Olson

Remember Mark Olson? The state representative was kicked to the curb by the GOP caucus after being accused of domestic battery in 2006. He was eventually convicted of misdemeanor assault, seemingly bringing his political career to a close.

But in August Republicans in Senate District 16 — which tracks Highway 169 from the northern suburbs (Big Lake, Zimmerman) up to the Mille Lacs area — endorsed Olson for a senate seat. The decision resulted in strident criticism from GOP pooh-bahs, including (bizarrely) Sen. Norm Coleman.

Grassroots Republicans were outraged by the meddling in local affairs. In August, for instance, I attended a meeting of Pine County Republicans, and there was a vigorous discussion of the Olson matter. “There is no excuse for party elites who believe they have more power than the grassroots,” said Michael Monte, the group’s secretary, at the time. The Pine County GOP passed a resolution commending party officials in Olson’s senate district for their actions.

The controversy seemed to be over, however, last month when Olson lost a primary battle to Allison Krueger. Even news that Olson iintended to mount a write-in campaign seemed merely an indication that he’d joined the ranks of fringe candidates forever tilting at electoral windmills.

But now comes the rather remarkable news over the weekend that Republicans in Senate District 16 — by an overwhelming 61-18 margin — have endorsed Olson’s write-in campaign. According to the St. Cloud Times, local GOP chairman Dave Wilson, had this to say about the decision: “People on the Olson side are going to be pushing as hard as we can with limited financial means to get him elected.”

All of which must be taken as remarkably good news for Democratic candidate Lisa Fobbe in a strongly GOP-friendly area. While the senate district voted narrowly for Amy Klobuchar in 2006 (48.3 to 47.6 percent), Gov. Tim Pawlenty crushed Mike Hatch by a 20-point spread that same year, and in 2004 George W. Bush received support from 61 percent of voters.

Fobbe says she wasn’t entirely surprised by the latest twist in GOP saga. “He has actually been active ever since losing the primary,” she says of Olson. “I’ve seen him more than I’ve seen Allison.”