Marty Seifert is the new Dayton, says Marty Seifert

After his, "Heya, go home" speech to delegates at the Republican state convention in Rochester, former Minnesota House Minority leader and 2014 gubernatorial candidate Marty Seifert chatted with his local paper.

And became spinning the metaphors.

In Seifert shakes off shaky weekend, the candidate tells Marshall Independent editor Pers Peterson that Seifert is the New Dayton:

Seifert ended up releasing his delegates after a long day and left the stage to boos, the Associated Press reported. The former House Minority Leader and Majority Whip maintains he has solid name recognition and touted during the weekend on social media that he is the only candidate with support in all 87 counties. He said any residual effects from Saturday will be fleeting.

"You have to remember, Dayton was physically locked out of and escorted away from his convention four years ago," Seifert said, referring to the 2010 DFL convention that saw the endorsement of Margaret Anderson-Kelliher. "He was jeered and treated very poorly. So this isn't unprecedented. I don't know if I'll be viewed as a maverick or not."

Indeed, Mark Dayton's experience in 2010 and that of Marty Seifert in 2014 are totally the same.

Except, of course, that unlike Seifert, Dayton never sought party endorsement. And once Dayton was denied a floor pass, he wasn't escorted away from the convention.

Forum Communications' Don Davis reported in Party keeps Dayton off convention floor:

Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party officials rejected a request from former U.S. Sen. Mark Dayton, now a governor candidate, to talk to delegates on their state convention floor.

So Dayton chatted with delegates in the hallways of the Duluth Entertainment Convention Center and talked to reporters, where he said the DFL move "is very petty."

Bill Salisbury reported in the Pioneer Press article, DFLers kickoff state convention in Duluth:

DFL leaders would not let the candidate who may be the 800-pound gorilla in the race, former U.S. Sen. Mark Dayton, onto the floor — although one delegate said he offered Dayton a floor pass. So the candidate stood outside the hall and greeted many long-time friends.

Dayton, the wealthy department store heir who has won two statewide elections, isn't seeking the party's endorsement and will jump into the primary.

"I'm trying to be respectful. I'm just being straight (with the delegates)," he said.

Dayton had not asked to speak or to be endorsed.

It was also widely reported that Matt Entenza, who did seek endorsement but who didn't promise to abide, offered Dayton a floor pass. Jason Hoppin, then at the Pioneer Press, noted in "Gaertner on floor, Dayton off" in the paper's Political Animal blog:

Much of the buzz from DFL convention in Duluth today surrounded the party's refusal to grant former U.S. Sen. Mark Dayton a floor pass, reasoning that he had taken his name off the ballot. But Ramsey County Attorney Susan Gaertner, who like Dayton is running in the primary, was also denied a pass.

That's the word from former House Minority Leader Matt Entenza when we ran into him in the skyway leading to the DECC. Entenza, also running in the primary but seeking the DFL endorsement nonetheless, said he offered both candidates passes from his camp.

Dayton -- a generous donor to Democratic causes over his career -- denied the offer, telling Entenza that if he couldn't come in the front door, he didn't want to come in at all, according to Entenza. Geartner accepted. [Pioneer Press, April 23, 2010, accessed via Nexis, June 2, 2014)

That's a far cry from Seifert's seeking endorsement, then trying to persuade delegates to derail the endorsement process and go home when he came in third. Seifert is much more aggressive, while also appearing to be the bad sport in the game.

There's also this in the Independent story:

"I believe we have a fantastic opportunity to win," he said. "We have very strong name ID and a very strong support network through all 87 counties."

According KSTP's May 28, 2014 report, GOP Candidates Face Battle of the Unknowns in Race for Minn. Governor:

According to new research done for 5 EYEWITNESS News by Frank Magid Associates, the leading GOP contenders are virtually unknown to a large percentage of Minnesotans.

Even former House Speaker Kurt Zellers and former House Minority Leader Marty Seifert suffer from low name recognition. Seifert is "not familiar" to 43 percent of registered voters who participated in an online survey. Zellers is "not familiar" to 42 percent of respondents.

Seifert has never won a statewide race; indeed, never even an endorsement for a statewide race. Dayton, on the other hand, was elected auditor and United States Senator. We won't even go into the money part.

Seifert isn't the New Dayton. He's the same old Marty who runs around claiming he was elected in a DFL-leaning area. Not.

Photo: Marty Seifert, via McLeod County Chronicle.

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