Bluestem asks readers to close their eyes and picture Dakota County Republican Bill Jungbauer on the set of TPT Almanac, serving as Republican State Party Chair, opposite his DFL counterpart, Ken Martin.
The Zen of that is the sound of one party clapping.
In the Star Tribune Hot Dish Politics blog, Patrick Condon reports in Downey gets opponent for Republican Party chair post:
Minnesota Republican Party Chairman Keith Downey, who had been unopposed in his bid for a second two-year term, as of Tuesday has an opponent in former CD2 GOP chairman Bill Jungbauer. . . .
Jungbauer chaired the CD2 Republicans until last Saturday, where he did not run for another term. He also previously was vice chairman of the CD4 GOP. He said from his perch on the state party's executive committee, that he and Downey often clashed about the party's debt, which now sits at about $1.4 million, Jungbauer said. . . .
Jungbauer has been a frequent candidate for office. Most recently, he was crushed in his bid for Dakota County Commissioner by incumbent Kathleen Gaylord, 69.18 percent to 30.36 percent. He challenged incumbent state representative Rick Hansen in 2008, losing in a 60.35 percent to 39.65 percent rout. Earlier in 2006, he had run against Senator Steve Metzen, who destroyed him by 63.98 to 35.88 percent.
While Jungbauer has won a number of party offices, he failed at his last effort for an executive office in 2011, when he sought to replace Michael Brodkorb as Deputy State Chair. Kelly Fenton, who now represents the Woodbury area in the Minnesota House, beat Jungbauer and a field of others. At Politics in Minnesota, Paul Demko reported in Kelly Fenton wins Minnesota GOP deputy chair post:
Kelly Fenton won a five-candidate contest on Saturday to become the state Republican Party’s new deputy chair.
Following the resignation of chair Tony Sutton less than 24 hours earlier, Fenton will serve as the party’s top official until an election for chair is held. The contest for Sutton’s seat must occur within 30 days.
Fenton won on the second ballot, receiving 173 votes, or 54 percent of all ballots cast. Former state Rep. Pete Nelson finished a distant second, collecting 93 votes on the second ballot. The rest of the field: Bill Jungbauer (23 votes), Scott Anderson (17 votes) and Corey Sax (14 votes). . . .
Fenton replaces Michael Brodkorb, who resigned to work on state Sen. Mike Parry‘s CD 1 congressional campaign. The new deputy chair indicated that she will not be a candidate in the election for chair.
We're not sure if he's built his base in the party since 2011.
Jungbauer is squarely in the Liberty Caucus--Ron Paul wing of the Republican Party as his blog, still online but inactive since 2011, reveals. The site is a treasure trove of oppo research, since the guy seemed to have some boundary issues as far as taste goes. A voter in the 2008 race wrote in a letter to the Lillie Suburban Newspapers:
I believe that what we need in the Minnesota House and Senate are more elected officials who are not ideologues, a risk we clearly have in [Hansen's] opponent. Do we really want another polarizing, ideological fanatic who will lead to more financial mismanagement? (I encourage the reader to Google Rick's opponent, Bill Jungbauer, and his blog entries and the political cartoons and web sites he advocates.)
We found this "joke" posted on the blog, which suggests that he just might not have the rhetorical acumen or plain common sense about what to say in public:
That sort of wit is sure to bring down the house, but perhaps not in the way that the Republican Party of Minnesota imagines.
Screengrab: Bill Jungbauer speaking at the April 15, 2009 Tea Party Rally at state capitol. Video is here, on Jungbauer's blog.
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