Tom Horner says Jesse Ventura’s first two years in office are a template for governing, should his Independence Party campaign match Ventura’s 1998 storming of the governor’s mansion. But before that can happen, says 2002 IP guv candidate Tim Penny, the party may have its first real endorsement battle.
One obstacle keeping Bob Anderson from running against Rep. Michele Bachmann next year was a pending vote by the Independence Party over cross-endorsements. Last election, the party endorsed the DFL’s Elwyn Tinklenberg, but Anderson ran anyway, getting 10 percent of the vote in a race won by Bachmann by a 3-percent margin. After the IP voted to drop cross-endorsements Saturday, Anderson is “encouraged,” but still undecided about running.
Things are heating up in the race to unseat 6th District Rep. Michele Bachmann: Democrat Maureen Reed raised $230,000 in the two months following her announcement to run; past challenger Elwyn Tinklenberg says he’ll be in the Democratic primary whether he gets the DFL nod or not; and state Sen. Tarryl Clark is expected to announce her candidacy soon. Another twist: Third-party candidate Bob Anderson — who garnered 10 percent of the vote in the 2008 election — is seriously considering running again.
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.
Gov. Tim Pawlenty’s announced plans to axe state refunds for political contributions of $50 or less has set off an email stampede as candidates urge donors to give before the program dies July 1.
Last used as a metaphor for Norm Coleman’s dwindling odds at winning back his old U.S. Senate seat, Monty Python’s Black Knight is again being conjured as a political metaphor — this time by the Independence…
There’s a primary election today in Minnesota. You can be forgiven for not having noticed. With the temporary Republican takeover of the Twin Cities and a U.S. Senate race that’s been billed as a two-candidate duel for months,…
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