Photo: KSTP-TV

Photo: KSTP-TV

Updated: As first reported by the Minnesota Independent, only one candidate for any office has his own booth at the Minnesota State Fair: Republican state Rep. Marty Seifert. And now his staff is evoking the memory of another State Fair, another booth and another candidate for governor: Jesse Ventura.

Seifert is only one among the legion of hopefuls seeking to replace retiring Gov. Tim Pawlenty in 2010. The general election is more than 14 months away, but a State Fair booth is still a heckuva deal at $750, a Seifert campaign spokesman told KSTP-TV yesterday as he tacked campaign signs to the volunteer-built superstructure.

The booth helps Seifert stand out from the crowd, as it did for Ventura, whose “Retaliate in ‘98″ campaign turned a corner during the 1998 fair, just weeks before his surprise third-party victory in the general election for governor. As Seifert campaign spokesman Ben Zierke told KSTP’s Tom Hauser:

This is a political place, the Minnesota State Fair, as you mentioned. Jesse Ventura, just down the block here, you know, when he ran for governor.

From Jacob Lentz’s 2001 book “Electing Jesse Ventura: A Third-party Success Story“:

Of course, politicians had booths. And Jesse Ventura had a booth.

Ventura had an inexpensive opportunity to reach — and charm — a large percentage of the state’s voters on an individual level. His booth was almost always swamped with people who may have been less excited about his candidacy than the entertainment value of his green and black “Ventura for Governor” bumper stickers and black T-shirts with “Retaliate in ‘98″ written across the chest in neon-green lettering. …

Ted Mondale was at his own booth, campaigning for the DFL nomination, and said of Ventura, “This guy worked insanely hard. I was at the state fair campaigning, and Jesse was always there, from morning till night.” Dane Smith, a longtime Twin Cities political reporter, remembered Ventura’s performance as the first time he took serious notice of the man. …

They passed out nearly 8,000 green and black bumper stickers … and over 6,000 buttons. The state fair also gave a huge boost to the popularity of “Retaliate in ‘98″ T-shirts, which were later sold over the Internet and at all campaign events. … Perhaps most important, Ventura’s popularity at the fair convinced Bill Hillsman, the ad guru who would eventually join Ventura’s campaign, that Ventura had a chance to win and was worth Hillsman’s energy.

The 2010 campaign for governor may be underway, but it’s still 2009. Volunteers will staff his booth 12 hours per day, but Seifert’s own daily shift will only be for one to two hours.

Ventura, famously, didn’t have time to bleed. But he made time for the Minnesota State Fair.

Seifert and his volunteers will be giving not only their time but also their money to the fair. Politicians, even those with booths, don’t get free passes, State Fair spokeswoman Brienna Schuette tells the Minnesota Independent:

The Minnesota State Fair has an “everyone pays” gate policy, so everyone entering the fairgrounds must present an admission ticket, including politicians and elected officials. No politicians or elected officials have asked us for free tickets this year.

UPDATE: Zierke tells MnIndy the Seifert campaign is paying for volunteers’ tickets to the fair.

Here is the KSTP report: