In the Spotlight

Tools
News & Features
Off-Year Convention a Bellwether for
Minnesota Republicans
By Karen Louise Boothe
September 19, 1997

Click for audio RealAudio 2.0 14.4


Die-hard Republican party activists will gather in Bemidji September 20 for an off-year state convention. Few voters are as interested in the gubernatorial campaign as these delegates are, but their straw poll on the race can either add some energy to, or deflate, a candidate's campaign.

Party leaders project a low turnout even among the most fervent party loyalists. Among some 2100 Republican delegates statewide, between 700 and 800 are expected. And if the old adage "politics belongs to those who show up" is true, which candidate belongs to the delegates?

Republican political analyst Tom Horner says among the four candidates in the race so far, Alan Quist could very well have his day in the sun again - something that might cast a shadow over the process in the eyes of most Minnesota Republicans:

There are a lot of Republicans and even more Minnesotans who are concerned about an Alan Quist candidacy and a party that could start him on a quest to run for governor again after his dismal showing in 1994.
Quist's gubernatorial candidacy ascended three years ago despite criticism over his more conservative political, social, and religious ideologies. Quist came under heated fire when he stated a belief that men are genetically predisposed to assuming leadership in families. The delegates at the 1994 state party nominating convention loved him. Mainstream Republicans hated his message and turned out in droves to vote for Arne Carlson in the primary.

Horner says Quist's eventual loss in that landslide to Governor Carlson shows he doesn't represent the majority view:

There's not a chance Alan Quist can win a statewide office in Minnesota.
And, he says, if Republicans turn their backs on the potential to win a very significant post in the state again, then many Minnesota Republicans might be inclined to wash their hands of the state party altogether:
I think it's a significant challenge for Bill Cooper to manage this in a way that is fair and abides by the party rules, but to show some guidance to move the party to a mainstream position as it's reflected in its gubernatorial candidate.
But Ron Carey, the party's secretary-treasurer, is among the delegates attending the convention this weekend. He says it's too early to predict whether Quist will win the straw poll. Besides, he says, if state Republicans dislike the prospects of a candidate they don't support winning the straw poll, then they should become delegates.
And you can't fault people. You hate to diminish a process that people are making sacrifices for. No one's getting paid to attend, and you have to respect them. If all Minnesotans made this kind of commitment, it'd be a much stronger process.
Moderate Republicans complain the party is controlled by the more conservative wing and doesn't endorse candidates that can do well in a statewide race. But Carey doesn't believe that a narrow description describes the delegates attending. He says they'll represent different stripes within the party.

Besides Quist, other candidates vying for support are Lieutenant Governor Joanne Benson, Republican Senator Roy Terwilliger of Edina, and Representative Tim Pawlenty of Eagan. But the field of candidates is not thought to be complete. Sara Janacek, a Republican lobbyist and political analyst, says there's also the Norm Coleman factor:

And there will be a box of the un-decideds. But the Coleman people have had nothing to do with working the delegates, and it would be stupid for them to right now when his St. Paul mayoral opponent Sandra Pappas wants to make an issue of him wanting more to be governor than mayor.
Although the main story in most off-year conventions is the results of a straw ballot for both Governor and Attorney General, this weekend could be different. Even the most mundane of housekeeping items up for reconsideration in the party's constitution could highlight divisions within the party.

Party conservatives, generally opposed to the expansion of gambling, are being asked by former Senate Minority Leader Dean Johnson to oppose funding a new Twins stadium with gambling revenue. Johnson lost his Senate leadership position in a coup staged by those who support the use of gambling money for a stadium.

Senate Minority Leader Dick Day is one of the authors of a plan that would direct slot machine revenues at Canterbury Park to a stadium financing plan. The vote on Johnson's proposal could be seen as a vote on the Day-led ouster of Johnson, but it will also give the more moderate Johnson an idea of how much support he'd get from this particular audience if he should decide to make a gubernatorial run as a dark horse.

Post-Convention Report