Since the current crop of Republican gubernatorial candidates agree on just about everything, the emerging press narrative for the endorsement (and nomination in case it goes to a primary) centers on electability.
Veteran Pioneer Press political reporter Bill Salisbury writes in Debate reveals similar messages from GOP's five candidates for governor:
Less than three weeks before Minnesota's precinct caucuses, five leading Republican candidates for governor have settled on similar messages for the race. Next, GOP activists must settle on a messenger.
During a candidate forum Saturday in Roseville, the contenders proposed similar approaches to major issues, including reducing taxes and government regulation and offering more choices in education.
But the audience of about 100 partisans and students at Concordia Academy wanted to know: Who is the most electable?
So far, so good. One would think that selecting a candidate who can get elected would be important, although 2012's Klobuchar blowout in the U.S. Senate race wasn't really a surprise, as much as it an anomoly.
And former House Minority Leader Marty Seifert's claim for electability? Salisbury reports:
Seifert, a farm kid from Marshall, stressed his varied background as a teacher, college counselor, real estate agent and hospital foundation director, plus his success at winning legislative elections by wide margins in a DFL-leaning district. [emphasis added]
"You've got to be able to get the votes of the average butcher, baker and candlestick maker to get elected, and I've done that," he said.
Did Seifert really represent a "DFL-leaning district"? Election results from 1998 to the present are available online at the Secretary of State's website, and looking at returns in the various permutations of Seifert's 21A, which he represented from 1997 to 2010, Bluestem didn't find this to be a particularly Democratic-leaning district.
But readers and potential Republican delegates don't have to take our word for it. Back in 2009 when Seifert was seeking the Republican endorsement for the 2010 gubernatorial contest, Seifert made similar claims about his district.
On June 4, 2009, Eric Ostermeier at Smart Politics checked it out in Does Marty Seifert Represent a 'Swing District?':
Seifert, in thanking his constituents for reelecting him by wide margins, referred to his seat as being located in a "swing district" - thus suggesting the Representative would be able to translate his political victories at home to the state at large . . .
Ostermeier runs through the numbers (read them there) and concludes:
Overall, Seifert has several attributes that might work to his advantage should he choose to run for Governor - his demeanor, his relationship with the media, his ability to turn a clever or colorful phrase, and his well-known "brutal honesty" (as he calls it) - even when that means criticizing the Republican Party on occasion when it goes awry (as profiled in a recent Smart Politics posting).
But, what cannot be said, under the currently-drawn district maps, is that Seifert represents even a "somewhat swing district."
Somehow, we don't think much has changed about historical election data in Seifert's district.
Fact-check: Seifert claims "No one asked that question four years ago"about electability
Salisbury also reports:
But the audience of about 100 partisans and students at Concordia Academy wanted to know: Who is the most electable?
That's the biggest difference between this year's Republican contest and the party's 2010 nomination battle.
"No one asked that question four years ago," former House Minority Leader Marty Seifert said after the 90-minute debate.
Oh really?
Bill Salisbury reported on April 29, 2010, in GOP state convention kicks off. Main event? Picking a gubernatorial candidate:
"It's a tough decision," said delegate Steve Perkins, the 1st Congressional District Republican chairman from Luverne, who said he hasn't picked a candidate yet. . . .
"I'll vote for the one who I think is the most electable and would govern best," he said.
Over at the Star Tribune's Hot Dish blog, Pat Doyle reported in Electability key to one Seifert delegate:
Ray Brackman said he's supporting Marty Seifert for the GOP endorsement for a simple reason.
"I think he's the most electable," Brackman said. "There really isn't much difference ideologically between Seifert and Emmer."
Standing on the GOP convention floor listening to speeches, Brackman held a sticker that read, "Giving money and power to government is like giving whiskey and car keys to teenage boys."
Brackman said he regarded Seifert as the candidate who could better appeal to swing voters.
Indeed, Seifert himself raised the question in 2010. MinnPost political columnist Doug Grow reported in Everything broke right today for Tom Emmer, giving him the GOP endorsement for governor:
Seifert gave a solid speech, raising the issue of electability.
"It's not just winning today," he told the delegates. "We must win in November."
He was treated to big applause.
Clever readers can google "electable" "Tom Emmer" "Marty Seifert" and find more examples on their own.
Photo: Marty Seifert, via McLeod County Chronicle.
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Either Marty Seifert has memory issues severe enough to render him incapable of the executive-level thinking needed to be an effective governor, or he's lying through his teeth.
If the latter holds true, he must really think Minnesotans don't have very good memories, if he thinks we don't remember how his biggest selling point in the 2010 GOP gubernatorial primary was that he was much more electable in the general than was Tom Emmer.
From the Mankato Free Press, January 8, 2010:
http://mankatofreepress.com/local/x306495907/Seifert-Emmer-1-2-in-GOP-field
-- “We all agree, generally, on the message,” Emmer said.
-- That’s why issues such as fundraising ability and personal liability might matter to Republicans attending the February caucuses — the first step in the endorsement process that will culminate at the party’s state convention on April 30 in Minneapolis. If they all stand for pretty much the same thing, then the choice becomes more about who can beat the Democratic candidate Nov. 2.
-- “We need someone who’s principled and electable,” Seifert said.
-- A 14-year-member of the state House and an admissions counselor at Southwest Minnesota State University, Seifert said Republican voters will see a candidate with fundraising ability and a history of electoral success. He’s won his last six elections with between 60 percent and 70 percent of the vote.
Posted by: Phoenix Woman | Jan 18, 2014 at 11:49 PM