Democrats for McCain?

Earlier this month John McCain’s campaign released a list of "prominent Democratic and unaffiliated leaders and activists" who are supporting his presidential campaign. There were a trio of Minnesotans on the roster: former Rep. Tim Penny, former state Supreme Court justice Alexander "Sandy" Keith and former state Rep. Stephen Wenzel. While this list was already a bit lacking in star power, the Center for Responsive Politics points out that characterizing any of these gentlemen as Democrats — or even independents — is not quite accurate.

Keith is a board member at the conservative think tank Center of the American Experiment and has contributed $8,700 to political campaigns since 2003 — all to Republicans. Then there’s Wenzel who was appointed by President Bush to the United States Department of Agriculture. Over the last five years he’s contributed $14,100 to political campaigns, exclusively to Republican candidates. Penny (pictured) comes closest to fitting the bill. He most recently ran for office on the Independence Party ticket, garnering support from 16 percent of voters in the 2002 gubernatorial contest. In the last five years Penny has contributed $950 to Democratic campaigns, while donating $5,550 to candidates of other parties.