Dave Thompson is In

Sen. Dave Thompson has announced that he's running for governor:

State Sen. Dave Thompson launched his campaign for governor Wednesday, calling for lower taxes, smaller government and sweeping changes to Minnesota labor laws and school funding.

“I’m doing this because I believe in the state of Minnesota and I believe in Minnesotans,” said Thompson, who kicked off his campaign at the State Capitol, where he has served for the past three years. “I believe in the individual … As governor, my goal will be to get out of your way.”

While I still wish he'd decided to run against Al Franken instead, Thompson immediately jumps to the front of the list of potential candidates on the GOP side. He's an attorney by profession and has also been a longtime talk show host for various stations in the Twin Cities, but in that role he was never a bomb thrower. I suspect his opponents are going to have a difficult time trying to paint him as an extremist, although I'm sure they'll try. He has been a consistent, measured voice for limited government and his voting record has been pretty good. If he gets through the process, he'd be able to draw clear distinctions in a race against Mark Dayton. Of the announced candidates for the office, he and Jeff Johnson are the two worth watching.