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By Laura McCallum
Minnesota Public Radio
August 29, 2001
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Along with the pronto pups and cheese curds, the one thing you're bound to find at the Minnesota State Fair is politicians. With more than one and a half million visitors each year, the state fair is prime campaign territory - even if the election is more than a year away.
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"One more hello, and then I'm going to take a break," says St. Paul mayor Norm Coleman, greeting fairgoers. Coleman, the likely Republican Senate candidate, is working the crowd and posing for instant photos next to his state fair booth. Lisa Thompson of Minneapolis is an eager supporter of Coleman's Senate bid.
"He's just so great. Look what he's done for St. Paul. If he could do that for the state in the Senate, that'd be great. He's brought a lot of focus, a lot of businesses to St. Paul," Thompson says.
Coleman says if the State Fair response is any indication, he's in good shape to take on two-term incumbent DFL Sen. Paul Wellstone next year.
"I don't know whether you can say it's an indication, because the people who don't support you, they're probably the ones walking by!" says Coleman. "So the ones that come up, come by and they give a hello - how're you doing there, Bruce?"
State Rep. Bruce Anderson, R-Buffalo Township, proves Coleman's point by dropping by the booth. Anderson was helping out at the Republican Party booth around the corner, and says the talk there was not 2002 - but the state rebate checks arriving in taxpayers' mailboxes.
"I've had a lot of people come in and say 'Jesse checks,' and then they say, 'I'm just kidding!' A lot of theem have also said that the House and the Senate were instrumental also," says Anderson.
Just up the street from the Coleman campaign, fairgoers are lined up in front of the Wellstone booth, anxious to greet the state's senior senator. An energetic Wellstone talks a little politics, but mostly he talks about issues - the environment, agriculture, labor, education. Debbie Brodie of Red Wing says she's glad Wellstone decided to seek a third term.
"I think the majority of people want to see him continue because of his stands. He's an average guy in a lot of ways! He's a teacher, which really goes over well with me, because I'm a teacher also, and his stands are fairly liberal, in a lot of ways, so that's important also," says Brodie.
Wellstone says while the election is still 15 months away, more people are starting to talk about 2002 than he would have expected. Wellstone says he has to start campaigning this early.
"If they say good luck, I like to kid people and say, 'well, you mean, good luck, I'll see you two years from now? I need your help!' Because I've always needed the help of people in Minnesota - I've never had an easy race. I think I'll do well, but it will be hard," says Wellstone.
While the 2002 Senate race is getting the most attention at the fair, other statewide candidates have been logging some fair time, most notably DFL gubernatorial candidate Judi Dutcher, who's been there nearly every day. Other candidates for governor in 2002 have made appearances, including DFL'er Becky Lourey and Republican Brian Sullivan.
A couple of state auditor candidates and a St. Paul mayoral candidate have mingled with fairgoers as well.
DFL State Party chairman Mike Erlandson says he's been surprised by the number of people paying attention to politics at an event he's jokingly called the "Great Minnesota Eat-together." He says the DFL booth has had a brisk business - selling t-shirts that read "Friends don't let friends vote Republican," and calendars that count down to the end of President Bush's term.
"I didn't think we'd sell a single one! On the first day we sold three or four, which at $20 apiece, I thought was a pretty good deal!" says Erlandson.
The hot item at the Republican booth is a button with caricatures of Sens. Wellstone and Mark Dayton - both DFL'ers - labeled "Minnesota's Liberal Twins." For freshman Sen. Dayton - who spent the last state fair appealing to voters in his primary bid - coming to the fair as a senator is a much more pleasant experience.
"It is so much nicer. I can't even begin to tell you!"
Dayton will have five more fairs to campaign at before he faces re-election.
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