One of the surprises for some in the 2008 statehouse elections was Kory Kath's win in the Steele-Waseca County seat opened by the retirement of Republican Connie Ruth. We weren't shocked by it so much as by the convincing majority by which he took the seat.
In Kory Kath hits the ground running, Mankato Free Press political reporter Mark Fischenich works an extended baseball metaphor to cover Kath. This is an impressive article: the reporter worked his ground well, going beyond the conventional wisdom about this being a Democratic year to actually suss out what happened on the ground in this race. Fischenich writes:
. . . This year, the Democrats finally found their stopper. And it was a rookie who had never run for public office before — Kory Kath, Gustavus Adolphus College political science graduate and Owatonna High School teacher.
Kath is 31 years old, married and the father of two children. But, at least to older folks, he looks young enough to be mistaken for a student at Owatonna High.
He was far from naive, however, about the challenge involved when he was thinking about running for the District 26A House seat. Ruth had decided to retire, so it was going to be an open seat. Still, the GOP had owned Waseca for two decades and the Owatonna portion of the district for even longer.
“I definitely knew the statistics,” Kath said.
He decided to try anyway.
“I’m not easily discouraged.”
Unexpected blow-out
Like lifelong fans of the Chicago Cubs each spring, Democrats in Waseca and Steele counties went into the fall with hope that this year might be different — and with the knowledge that, in the end, “close” is about as good as it gets for their team. . . .
. . . Kath won 57 percent of the vote to 43 percent for two-term Owatonna Mayor Tom Kuntz, a lopsided margin in a district that typically votes for Republicans by that margin in everything from presidential to gubernatorial elections.
While some writers look to identify a "secret weapon" in surprise victories, Fischenich finds that Kath's political skills and penchant for hard work took the contest:
Kath said he and his team — knowing that traditional approaches to campaigning hadn’t been successful for Democrats — tried to think of fresh ideas for everything from direct-mail pieces to yard signs. But mainly, it was about working tirelessly to connect with voters and listen to their concerns.
“That’s one thing I heard from so many people, ‘You have so much energy,’” Kath said. “... I think it’s a testament to how hard I’m going to work, too. I think people recognized this is somebody who’s going to fight for us.”
Along with crediting his campaign workers and extended family, Kath said Walz and his congressional campaign were very helpful with advice.
“One statement he used was ‘Run as if you’re always two votes behind,’” Kath said of Walz.
He took the advice and ended up 2,817 votes ahead.
Earlier, Fischenich drew the obvious parallel between Walz and Kath:
It’s not unprecedented that a south-central Minnesota school teacher would pull off a political upset. Mankato English teacher John Dorn knocked
off incumbent Republican state Rep. Mark Piepho in 1986 and went on to
win nine more times. Mankato geography teacher Tim Walz shocked
Republican Congressman Gil Gutknecht in 2006. Neither teacher had run
for political office previously. Walz was praised for his high-energy
campaigning. Dorn attributed his success partly to the relationships
and trust he built with students and their parents during his teaching
career — and joked that he had enough relatives in Mankato to tip most
elections his way.
Read the whole article about the energetic guy who may just end up being the 2009 session rookie of the year. The MFP tops it off with some fine shots by photographer John Cross.
Looks like the conventional political wisdom about Southern Minnesota is going to be shaken for years to come. So here's a song from John Fogerty for Southern Minnesota native, House Speaker Margaret Kelliher, on what to do with her rookie:
Comments