Who’s in for 2010: Third party contenders

The 2010 gubernatorial contest will not be a two-party affair. With no clear favorites on either the Democratic or Republican side of the aisle, the political climate is potentially ripe for a third-party candidate to gain a toehold in the race.

The most obvious dark-horse challenger is the Independence Party. Ever since Jesse Ventura blew up the political conventional wisdom by winning the gubernatorial contest in 1998, the IP has been a formidable factor every four years.

Former U.S. Rep Tim Penny

In 2002, former U.S. Rep. Tim Penny brought broad name recognition and moderate policy credentials to the contest. He ultimately pulled just 16 percent of the vote, but was likely hurt by heightened partisanship in the wake of U.S. Sen. Paul Wellstone’s death.

“The final week of that campaign everything changed,” recalls Penny, now president of the Southern Minnesota Initiative Foundation. “I went from being as likely a victor as the other two to being the odd man out in just a number of days.”

Four years later the IP endorsed Peter Hutchinson, a former state finance commissioner, foundation executive and deputy mayor of Minneapolis. But his broad resume didn’t ultimately hold much sway with voters: He managed just six percent of the vote.

Despite these declining fortunes, the IP has retained its major party status, meaning it’s guaranteed a spot on the ballot. So who else might be looking at the party’s endorsement for 2010?

Penny says he’s not interested, noting that foundation work and other endeavors keep him plenty busy. But he’s optimistic that the IP will run a credible candidate.

“Every year there’s a path for an independent candidate to get from the starting gate to the winner’s circle,” he says. “I think there’s a path this year given the fact that it’s going to be wide open.”

Another perennial contender, Dean Barkley (pictured), isn’t ruling anything out. Outside of Ventura, Barkley has been the most visible face of the IP over the last two decades. Most recently, he siphoned off 15 percent of the vote in the (still ongoing) U.S. Senate bloodbath between Norm Coleman and Al Franken.

“I have some mild interest in it,” Barkley says. “I wouldn’t call it a great deal of interest, but I’m at least looking at it.”

In other words: Barkley will fall on his sword and run again if no other credible candidate emerges. The IP is currently in the process of gauging interest among other potential challengers.

Rep. Jim Ramstad. Photo: Lauren Victoria Burke, WDCpix

Heading up that effort is Jack Uldrich, the party’s chairman. Among the folks he’s contacted about the contest: former U.S. Rep. Jim Ramstad (pictured), Metropolitan Council Chair Peter Bell and Minnesota Chamber of Commerce President David Olson. Uldrich argues that the decision of Gov. Tim Pawlenty not to seek a third term provides an opportunity for the IP to become a larger factor in the contest.

“He was difficult for both Peter Hutchinson and Tim Penny to run against because he appears more moderate than he actually is,” Uldrich says. “That will make it easier for us.

Uldrich further argues that the potential of wealthy Democratic candidates (i.e. Mark Dayton and Matt Entenza) to bypass the endorsement process and run in a contested primary could provide a further opening for third-party candidates. “They’re going to have really a bloodbath on that side,” he says. “They’re going to go to a primary and they’re going to come out of that pretty weak.”

While the IP is almost certain to be a factor in the 2010 gubernatorial contest, other third parties will have to scrap mightily for any electoral clout. The Green Party of Minnesota previously was accorded major party status, but lost that pedigree after failing to garner five percent of the vote in any of the statewide contests in 2006. Even with guaranteed ballot access the Greens have never won more than two percent of the vote in a governor’s race.

According to Cam Gordon, a Minneapolis City Council member and Green Party activist, the party has formed a committee to explore options for 2010. But so far no candidates have indicated that they’ll be seeking the party’s endorsement and the Greens are likely to focus on local contests.

“I’m feeling somewhat hopeful,” says Gordon of the party’s overall prospects in 2010. “But I think it’s been a hard time for the Greens the last few years. It will really be a turning point for us if we can get somebody elected to the state House.”

At least one candidate will be running as a Green — but has no intention of seeking the party’s official backing. Richard Klatte says he grew tired of the party’s disorganization and lack of candidate recruitment strategies.

“I’ve gone to the meetings and they’ve totally ignored me and my ideas,” says Klatte, who hosts a cable-access program called Third Party Forum and has made unsuccessful runs for office several times previously. “It’s a waste of time.”

Further undermining the Green Party’s prospects are the plans of Ken Pentel (pictured). The environmental activist was the party’s official nominee in both 2002 and 2006. But Pentel has split ties with the Greens and is in the early stages of building his own political organization called the Ecology Democracy Network.

Pentel has been traveling the state by bicycle and recruiting supporters for the fledgling coalition, with roughly 150 people currently in the fold. The organization will advocate for radical changes to economic, agricultural and electoral policies in order to avert what he believes is looming environmental devastation.

“There is no political party, there is no political movement that is literally dealing with this,” he says. “Everybody’s scared. We sit around on our hands rationalizing it.”

Pentel expects to develop a political party sometime this fall and hopes to have 100 candidates running in the 2010 elections, with himself at the top of the ticket. The break with the Greens comes after mounting frustration at the party’s lack of electoral success.

“The people who got into the decision-making positions were not that interested in building a political party to power,” argues Pentel. “They didn’t want to develop candidates, recruit candidate and get on the ballot line.”

While Pentel’s political organization is still in its embryonic stages, at least one 2010 hopeful is eschewing party politics all together. Chris Wright registered with the Minnesota Campaign Finance Board in December to run for governor. He’s a computer technician and former activist with the (now defunct) Grassroots Party, which focused primarily on marijuana legalization.

“What I really wanted to do is raise some issues that are simply not being raised by either of the two major parties,” says Wright, citing energy independence and drug legalization. “The only ones who make money on the prohibition of narcotics are the cops and the gangs. Let’s stop doing this.”

Of course, Wright will undoubtedly find it extremely difficult to get these opinions heard without the backing of a political party — major or minor. His previous run for Governor, in 1998, doesn’t inspire confidence in his prospects: he garnered 1,727 votes, or .1 percent of all votes cast.