Attacking Gov. Mark Dayton for “super-sizing” government, former Speaker of the House Kurt Zellers said Sunday he will challenge the incumbent Democrat in next year’s election.
Standing on a neighbor’s front lawn in Maple Grove, Rep. Zellers attacked the $2 billion tax increase Dayton signed into law, and took credit for stopping Dayton’s initial tax hike proposal.
He's the latest in a long list of people who want to take Dayton down. I don't have a dog in this fight but my first impression is that Zellers isn't the right guy to do this job. But I could be persuaded.
The next candidate up is apparently Dave Thompson, the state senator from Lakeville who has been the most effective spokesman for the Republicans in the last session. I still think Thompson would be a better candidate to run against Al Franken, but he's set his sights on the governor's race, if reports I've read are true.
Remember -- while Dayton's approval ratings are supposed sky high at the moment, the taxes that were passed in this session are not yet in effect. In a year, things are going to look very different in Minnesota.
3 comments:
I don't see where Zellers is going to build his campaign infrastructure.
Johnson, from the look of the attendees to his announcement, has a lot of establishment support. Thompson will likely grab a healthy chunk of the conservative base and Honour will likely make the whole endeavor that much more expensive.
I imagine Zellers will hope to find allies among the House caucus, but I suggest he's perceived as losing them the majority and persona non grata these days. Throw in the fact that I doubt we've seen the last entries into the field, and Zellers probably won't have much oxygen to run.
If I had to guess, Zellers might finish third or worse at the State Central straw poll of delegates this fall and would drop out shortly thereafter.
If I had to guess, Zellers might finish third or worse at the State Central straw poll of delegates this fall and would drop out shortly thereafter.
That seems right to me.
You can thank Zellers as much as Dayton for the 1B+ Vikings stadium gift to Ziggy. I'll pass on Zellers.
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