Political Notebook

The battle for rural votes

Rural voters are getting plenty of attention today as the two GOP gubernatorial candidate front runners, state Rep. Tom Emmer and state Rep. Marty Seifert, try to woo delegates. Seifert's campaign has taken aim at his opponent for having an all metro-area ticket with Emmer of Delano and Annette Meeks of Delano. In literature passed out by the Seifert campaign to delegates, it states "an 'all-metro' Republican ticket sends the wrong signal to voters in rural Minnesota." Seifert is from Marshall and his running mate is Anoka County Commissioner Rhonda Sivarajah.

That argument appears to be winning over Mower County delegates. So far of the 11 delegates all are going for Seifert except for one. Delegate and House District 27B candidate Jennifer Gumbel said she is backing Seifert because she believes he is more in touch with rural Minnesotans.

"I don't think that outstate development is going to be on Emmer's radar," Gumbel said.

But it is a totally different story in Wabasha County. State Rep. Steve Drazkowski of Mazeppa, a backer of Emmer, said that the entire county delegation is expected to vote for Emmer. Drazkowski challenged the assertion by Seifert's campaign that Emmer-Meeks is an "all-metro" ticket saying that half of Emmer's legislative district is rural.

"(Emmer) is very, very in tune with the rural area," Drazkowski said.

Marty, Walz, Hagedorn and more

It is proving to be a busy political day already. DFL gubernatorial candidate John Marty picked a fellow state senator as his running mate. Marty announced today that his pick is Sen. Patricia Torres Ray of Minneapolis. She is the first Latina to be elected to the Minnesota Senate. For more information about here, go the campaign Web site.

The only other gubernatorial candidate to announce a running mate so far has been Republican state Rep. Marty Seifert. He picked Anoka County Commissioner Rhonda Sivarajah. It will be interesting to see how many other candidates opt to make their picks before next month's state conventions.

MinnPost also has a story looking at congressional earmarks. It includes a list of the 25 largest earmark requests. Included on that list are several requests for area projects made by 1st District Rep. Tim Walz. Here is the story.

Also, some liberal bloggers are reporting that 1st District GOP candidate Jim Hagedorn has sent out an e-mail saying that fellow GOP candidate Allen Quist is too close to Bachmann. The Minnesota Independent and Bluestem Prairie. 

During Bachmann's visit on Monday to Rochester, I asked her if she planned to endorse anyone before the 1st District Republican Convention on April 17. She said she is not going to endorse anyone. But while addressing members of the Rochester Area Republican Women, she mentioned Quist's name several times in reference to issues he has raised with the Democrats' health reform bill. She did not mention any other GOP congressional candidates. Quist's wife, Julie Quist, serves as Bachmann's district director.

Senjem endorses Seifert for governor

Senate Minority Leader Dave Senjem announced today he is backing former House Minority Leader Marty Seifert for governor. The Rochester Republican is quoted as saying the following in a news release about his pick:

"As minority leader in the Senate, I was privileged to work with Marty Seifert when he was minority leader in the house," Senjem said. "Marty's team player attitude and leadership in the state house is a big reason that all of Governor Pawlenty's veto's were upheld last session."

Senjem chose Seifert over the other lead GOP candidate state Rep. Tom Emmer. You can read more about the announcement here. The GOP gubernatorial contest has been getting pretty heated in recent weeks as delegates are getting elected to the state convention. Emmer recently unveiled a new Web page aimed at disputing campaign attacks. It's called Emmer Truth.

Members of the Rochester delegation have generally been staying out of gubernatorial politics. Last I heard, the three DFL House representatives in the delegation -- Rep. Tina Liebling, Rep. Kim Norton, and Rep. Andy Welti, have not publicly endorsed a candidate. On the GOP side, Rep. Randy Demmer has also not made an endorsement

The exception among Rochester Democrats is Sen. Ann Lynch. She has endorsed state Sen. Tom Bakk for governor.

Seifert announces running mate

GOP gubernatorial candidate Marty Seifert announced this morning he has picked Anoka County Commissioner Rhonda Sivarajah as his running mate. She has spent seven years serving as a county commissioner. She is also a former business owner and was appointed to Gov. Tim Pawlenty's Workforce Development Council. You can go here to learn more about her.

A recent e-mail update from the Rochester Tea Party Patriots shows that Seifert appears to be reaching out to the group. His campaign made an announcement in the e-mail that they will have a meet and greet in Rochester tomorrow morning at Denny's. It asks people to RSVP ahead of time by calling 651-204-9979 or sending an e-mail to rsvp@seifertforgovernor.com.

Seifert is the first candidate of either party to announce a running mate pick. It will be interesting to see how quickly others jump in with their own announcements.

Seifert's main competitor for the GOP nomination, Tom Emmer, will be doing his own meet and greet event tomorrow in Red Wing. He will be at Caribou Coffee in Red Wing from 4:30 p.m. to 6 p.m.

Roch caucus wrap-up: Seifert dominates, Rybak scores victory

Turnout was definitely down at both the Olmsted County DFL and Republican precinct caucuses when compared to the 2008 presidential year. Still, those who showed up proved to be motivated.

At the Republican caucus, state Rep. Marty Seifert dominated in the non-binding straw poll. Seifert ended up leading by a 2 to 1 margin in Olmsted County over the second-place finisher, state Rep. Tom Emmer. Statewide, Seifert won with slightly more than 50 percent of the vote. Emmer in second with roughly 40 percent.

Among Democrats, perhaps the most telling total in Olmsted County was the number of uncommitted voters. While Rybak won the gubernatorial straw poll in Olmsted County with roughly 23 percent, second place went to uncommitted voters with 17 percent of votes cast. It is worth noting DFL gubernatorial candidate Mark Dayton was not on the straw poll ballot because he plans to run in the primary. Third place went to Matt Entenza with roughly 13 percent.

Statewide, Rybak and Margaret Anderson Kelliher scored the most votes with Rybak getting nearly 22 percent and Kelliher getting 20 percent.

Seifert raises more than $262,000

Republican gubernatorial candidate Marty Seifert announced today that his campaign raised more than $262,000 in 2009. Here is the press release:

Marty Seifert’s campaign for governor announced today that it took in over $262,000 in the 2009 reporting period.  In just over six months, more than 1,800 individuals contributed to Seifert’s campaign.  The campaign enters 2010 with approximately $133,000 cash on hand.

“I am very encouraged with the outpouring of support from across Minnesota,” Seifert said.  “Not only do we have an extremely strong grassroots organization, our finance network extends to every corner of Minnesota.  I am confident that ours is the only Republican campaign with the necessary resources to win the GOP endorsement and win in November.”

Additional information about Seifert’s totals:

Seifert “maxed out” the large donor (over $250 up to the $500 maximum) category of $95,800
Almost $75,000 in contributions was received in the month of December
Seifert did not accept any contributions from registered lobbyists
Seifert transferred approximately $20,000 from his now-closed State House account (included in the $262,000 number)
Seifert loaned the campaign $20,000 (included in the  $262,000 number)
“In the early days of the Seifert for Governor campaign, we set a number of aggressive goals,” said Jim Knoblach, Seifert for Governor Campaign Chairman.  “Not only did we aim to lead the Republican field by a significant margin, it was our hope to finish the year with similar numbers to Governor Pawlenty in 2001.  Even though we competed with eight other campaigns in a tough economy, we enter 2010 with more cash-on-hand than the Pawlenty campaign in 2002 and raised a comparable amount.  This is a true testament to the strength of the candidate and the organization, which continues to gain momentum.”

Seifert ranks second for having raised the most money so far in 2009 among gubernatorial candidates who have released their totals. You can check out the other totals here. Candidates have until the end of the month to report campaign donation totals to the state.

Big fundraiser for Seifert in Rochester tonight

Republican gubernatorial candidate Marty Seifert is in town today for a big fundraiser in his honor.

Former Rochester City Councilwoman Marcia Marcoux and former state GOP Rep. Carla Nelson have helped plan the event at the home of Al and Sharon Tuntland. Nelson said they are expecting about 70 people for the event. It is part of an end-of-the-year push by Seifert to raise $20,000 in the final days of the year.

The Pioneer Press had a story today about Seifert, declaring him the clear front-runner among the Republicans in the race. But it notes he is still in a hotly-contested race for the Republican nomination with state Rep. Tom Emmer, of Delano. Others vying for the endorsement include former state Auditor Pat Anderson, former state Rep. Bill Haas, state Sen. David Hann, environmental activist Leslie Davis and businessman Phil Herwig.

It seems clear that Seifert, of Marshall, has the backing of the key Republican movers and shakers in Rochester. His southeast Minnesota leadership team is a who's who of local GOPers. It includes former state Rep. Fran Bradley, Republican Party of Olmsted County Co-Chair Bruce Kaskubar and former state Senate candidate Dr. Scott Wright.

What remains unknown is whether a well-known Republican like Norm Coleman may end up jumping into the race at the last minute. In an interview this afternoon, Seifert said he "wouldn't be shocked" if Coleman decided to get in the race. But he said at this point he is just focusing on his own campaign and the statewide convention in April.

"At the end of the day, I feel confident that our campaign is gaining momentum and a lot of positive accolades that we'll be able to very, very competitive on April 30 regardless who gets in," Seifert said.

Coleman tops GOP gov candidates in new poll

 

Even though he has not announced plans to run, former U.S. Sen. Norm Coleman topped other GOP candidates running for governor in a new poll. A Rasmussen Reports poll founds that Coleman would get 50 percent support from likely Republican voters in the state.

That gives Coleman a sizable lead over the other contenders. State Rep. Marty Seifert, who stepped down as House Minority Leader to run for governor, comes in second with 11 percent support. State Rep. Laura Brod, who has not ruled out running for governor, received 5 percent of the vote. State Rep. Tom Emmer got 1 percent. Republican voters backing other candidates amounted to 7 percent.

One of the most interesting numbers in the poll is that 26 percent of GOP voters are undecided. That could leave the door open for a new candidate -— especially if Coleman opts not to run. It begs the question whether Commissioner of Labor and Industry Steve Sviggum might toss his hat in the ring. The former House Speaker found out that federal law prohibited him from running for office while keeping his day job. But he left open the possibility of stepping down and running for office closer to the election.

Among DFL candidates, former U.S. Sen. Mark Dayton and Minneapolis Mayor R.T. Rybak tied for the top spot, each netting 30 percent of the vote from likely Democratic voters. House Speaker Margaret Anderson Kelliher got 8 percent and former state House Minority Leader Matt Entenza received 6 percent. Another 5 percent prefer a different candidate and 20 percent are undecided.

Here is a link to the poll results.

Local Republican leaders line up behind Seifert

Today, Rep. Marty Seifert of Marshall unveiled a list of his backers from southeast Minnesota in his quest for the governor's mansion. The individuals are part of Seifert's "Southeast Minnesota Leadership Team."

Among the Rochester big hitters on the list are: Republican Party of Olmsted County Co-Chair Bruce Kaskubar, former Rep. Fran Bradley, former Rep. Carla Nelson, former state Senate candidate Dr. Scott Wright and 1st Congressional District Republicans Vice-Chair Duane Quam.

Seifert made the announcement during a live chat on his Web site. Here is the complete list of 23 supporters.

*Chuck Bradford – Mantorville, Chairman Dodge County Republicans, Deputy Chair 1st Congressional District Republicans
*Fran Bradley – Rochester, former State Representative
*Mike Falk- Albert Lea, Activist, Youth for McCain State Co-Chair 2008
*Katie Gottwalt – Mankato, Vice Chair Minnesota State-Mankato College Republicans
*Jerry Groebner – Madison Lake, Chairman Blue Earth County Republicans
*Bruce Kaskubar, Rochester, Chairman Olmsted County Republicans
*Bob Kierlin, Winona, Former State Senator, Founder of Fastenal
*Tom Kuntz – Owatonna, Mayor
*Mary Myers – Mankato, Republican National Alternate ’80, ’84, Local Reagan Chair
*Carla Nelson – Rochester, former State Representative
*Jerry Pappenfuss- Winona, business owner, past MN Broadcasters assoc. President
*Sean Paskach – Mankato, executive director Minnesota State-Mankato College Republicans
*Andru Peters- Lake City, Goodhue County BPOU state delegate
*Mark Piepho – Mankato, former State Representative and State Senator
*Robert F. Pierret – Mankato, longtime activist
*Aaron Pilcher- Waseca, Waseca County Activist
*Duane Quam – Byron, former Chair 1st Congressional District Republicans
*Dustin Quimby – Albert Lea, former Treasurer 1st Congressional District Republicans
*Lewis Reiman – Utica, former candidate State House
*Michelle Rifenberg- La Crescent, former State Representative, Former Deputy Chair Minnesota Republican Party
*Connie Ruth – Owatonna, former State Representative
*Howard Swenson – Nicollet, former State Representative
*Dr. Scott Wright – Rochester, former State Senate candidate
 

Food on a stick and politics

Once again it is time for the Great Minnesota Get-Together. And while the latest new foods on a stick usually grab the limelight, it is worth noting that the fair is also a key political event. Gubernatorial candidates are swarming to the event for the chance to schmooze fair goers and build key support.

The Minnesota DFL has posted a list showing when gubernatorial candidates will be at the party's booth. You can check that out here. In the case of the Republican Party of Minnesota, it looks like it will be more of a hit-and-miss scenario for people looking to chat with a particular gubernatorial candidate. The party's spokesman Mark Drake said GOP gubernatorial candidates will be at the booth but there is not a set schedule as to when they will be there.

However, former House Minority Leader Marty Seifert has already tweeted that he is the only gubernatorial candidate with his own booth.

In addition, state lawmakers can be found at both the House and Senate booths. Click here to Download Memsched09 and here to 

Download Senators_attending

Not many southeast Minnesota lawmakers appear to be making the trek. House Assistant Majority Leader Andy Welti, DFL-Plainview, was at the fair today. House Assistant Minority Leader Randy Demmer, R-Hayfield, will be there from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. on Sept. 2 and Rep. Steve Drazkowski, R-Mazeppa, is scheduled to be there from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. on Sept. 6.