Gaertner to run through primary

Ramsey County Attorney Susan Gaertner will take her two-year-plus campaign for governor through the DFL primary election. In a statement, she said, “my original plan to rely solely on the endorsement and convention process was too politically limiting.”

Calling herself “an outsider with a reputation as a straight-shooting moderate,” Gaertner said:

This doesn’t mean that I have given up on anyone in the DFL. Like other candidates who have stated their intention to run in a primary, I respect the party process and will continue to work to gain the support of delegates to the DFL convention. I will be working hard, however, to gain the support of the many loyal DFL voters who don’t always get engaged in the caucus and convention process.

Despite her long time in the trenches, Gaertner isn’t ranked as a leading candidate for endorsement among the nearly dozen DFLers now seeking the post Tim Pawlenty will vacate a year from now.

Last month EMILY’s List announced funding for the only other woman in the Democratic field, House Speaker Margaret Anderson Kelliher, leading Gaertner to issue a press release explaining why being passed over by the pro-choice women-candidate organization wasn’t that big a deal.