From GOP Convention: The trickle down effect of Convention analyzed.
Bob Collins, 8/16/96

Minnesota's delegates to the Republican National Convention are heading home, hoping there's a statewide payoff in the Dole/Kemp ticket.

For delegates from predominantly Democratic states, this week has been a release. Most of those they've been meeting this week are like-minded people with basically the same goals.

(139-just by meeting people from other states and delegations and talking with other people, you actually get to see for yourself that this is a big tent here and he party is so much more inclusive than any other party that has ever existed).

Justin Kryck (crik) of Esko returns to a state today whose political landscape is pretty much the same one he left last weekend. This week, these delegates have been in the majority....tomorrow, it's back to a state that still is politically defined by Hubert Humphrey, still a state whose legislature is controlled by Democrats.

It may be hard to underestimate the degree to which Minnesota figures in the Dole campaign strategy .``

. Minnesota is the only state to go Democratic 6 of the last 7 times and only D.C. has gone Democratic the last 7 times. Those two combined are good for only 13 electoral votes...not enough to get much attention from the national Party other than some money and a token visit by a candidate's wife,.. State Party Chair Chris Georgacus acknowledges Republican strategists have historically written off Minnesota

(0254) "that ignores the fact Minnesota has been a competitive state for many years between the two parties. It ignores the fact in Minnesota we have an emerging Republican majority party . I don't know how much $ is gonna be sent by the dole campaign in Minnesota but I would argue our state is like Wisconsin, Iowa, and others where Republicans CAN carry the state." Critics have suggested this convention is a waste of time since Dole was assured of the nomination and there was no fight over the platform.

Former State Party Chair Bob Weinholzer disagrees...and suggests the convention casts its biggest shadow on STATE races. He figures the Republican upper crust can convert the enthusiasm brewed here into votes for Congressional and legislative races.

(351-ya know, you get up and you're swinging the signs, you get all excited. So what you do now is take that energy and enthusiasm back to Minnesota and then you infect all the people who are working in the trenches. And let's face it, THOSE are the people who win elections.)

Most national polls have suggested the Dole/Kemp ticket has narrowed the gap with Clinton/Gore; an expected phenomenon. But the Republicans don't have much time to capitalize on the publicitiy generated by this week's convention. The Democrats convention begins in Chicago a week from Monday and they'll get a "bounce" too.

Who's come out of this convention a winner in Minnesota? Weinholzer says former Congressman Vin Weber mined support for an expected gubernatorial run (635-vin weber has gone from one press conference to another. He's made a point to spend a lot of time with the delegation, at the hotel, at events, Vin shows up down here on the floor. I mean, that's just good common sense) Weinholzer sees the early line for the Republican gubernatorial race as Weber, Joanne Benson and possibly Dean Johnson.

The highlight of the week? Weber probably answered that when he joked with the delegation at an event on Tuesday.

At the Republican National Convention in San Diego, I'm Bob Collins Minnesota Public Radio.