The drama continues in the Republican primary for the open seat in Minnesota House District 23B created by the resignation of Tony Cornish following revelations of sexual harassment by the powerful public safety committee chair.
Cornish responds to a widely published letter by one-term wonder, former state senator Al DeKruif in Wednesday's Mankato Free Press. In DeKruif criticism of Cornish unwarranted, the former lawmaker and lawman writes:
The recent scathing personal and political attack on me, by former “one termer” Sen. Al DeKruif, is a prime example of what is wrong with politics today.
I did not favor the choice of the GOP endorsing convention and instead chose to personally endorse Scott Sanders. I did so without even mentioning the other candidate's name.
Mr. DeKruif fails to mention that I notified him ahead of the endorsing convention that I did not favor the candidate they were considering by name. He also failed to mention he insulted me further by telling me I should stay out of this. He pretends that this was a large endorsing convention without telling us that, minus spectators, there were only 66 seated voting delegates, through a confusing formula that I cannot explain in this letter.
What Mr. DeKruif did was solidify people’s pessimism about the political system. I can only hope he can shed the “Chicago Style” politics and not demean me for backing Scott Sanders.
Mr. Munson told the Mankato Free Press in Munson looks to bring grassroots values to Capitol:
As Munson puts it, more than 200 delegates and alternates went to the District 23 endorsing convention last month as part of the party's process to choose a candidate. Those people generally know how political issues have affected the district, and their endorsement shouldn't be taken lightly, Munson said.
Sanders critic and Munson supporter Jeff Taylor cited a lower number in a letter to the Mankato Times:
On a wintry night last month in Mapleton, eighty percent of the Republican House District 23B delegates voted for Jeremy Munson on the first ballot at our endorsing convention. The delegates consist of 189 volunteers who took the time to learn the issues, meet both candidates, and heard Mr. Munson and Mr. Sanders speak and discuss pertinent issues. Also present and endorsing Mr. Munson were Jim Hagedorn, candidate for MN 1st District to the US House of Representatives, and Republican gubernatorial candidates. Prior to the endorsement vote, both candidates agreed to honor the delegates’ selection.
The Mankato Free Press reported at the time of the endorsement:
The Lake Crystal man took home the endorsement over Watonwan County Commissioner Scott Sanders after the first ballot at the party’s endorsement convention at the Mapleton Community Center. Willa Dailey, chair of Blue Earth County Republicans, said Sanders didn’t confirm whether he'd abide by the endorsement afterward.
How many delegates were seated and voted? Was there an agreement to abide?
We'll probably never know, but we do find Hagedorn's support for the endorsed candidate offered as proof of Munson's cred to be ironic in the face of his own history as a candidate. In 2014, Hagedorn beat GOP endorsed CD1 candidate Aaron Miller in the primary.
Cornish's campaign cash
Tony Cornish has yet to terminate his own campaign committee, according to the overview for the committee online at the Minnesota Campaign Finance and Public Disclosure Board and the Board's list of terminated committees in the last 90 days. The last available report for the committee, Year End 2016, noted that Cornish had $7,628.23 cash on hand. We won't know what the current balance is until February 1 or so, since 2017 non-election year reports aren't due until January 31, 2018.
What can Cornish do with any remaining cash? The Board factsheet on disposal of cash and assets held by terminating committees advises:
A candidate committee, political committee or fund, or party unit can use its funds to pay unpaid bills or make contributions to other political committees and funds and to party units.
Candidate committees, political committees and funds, and party units also may return cash and in- kind contributions to the contributors who made those contributions.
A candidate committee, political committee or fund, or party unit that is terminating within 12 months can make unlimited contributions to charities organized under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code.
We suspect that Cornish won't be handing unspent cash over to party units, given the vitriol, and we've got to wonder which GOP candidates might take the funds as there might be a target on that money. Will the money be returned to donors--or land in the hands of charities.
Meanwhile, the Mankato Free Press reports Wagner leads 23B fundraising before special primary.Trey Mewes reports:
DFL candidate Melissa Wagner has raised more money and has more cash on hand than her Republican counterparts a little less than three weeks before House District 23B's special election. Wagner has raised $13,180 as of Jan. 15, according to state campaign finance reports released Tuesday. Her campaign had more than $9,800 on hand as well. And unlike her GOP opponents, Wagner hasn't yet taken campaign loans.
GOP endorsee Jeremy Munson raised almost $11,400 during the same time period — Dec. 4 to Jan. 15. Munson's campaign had more than $3,200 on hand, and Munson has loaned $2,000 to his campaign efforts.
His Republican primary opponent, Scott Sanders, appears to be largely self-funding his campaign. Sanders raised almost $5,500; he loaned himself $5,000.
However, the Free Press report did not note the substantial contributions that have come into the Munson and Sanders' coffers since the report deadline earlier this month. Campaigns are required to report large donations within 24 hours after the deadline. The board posts notices here.
Bluestem looked at the contributions in an earlier post, MN23B special: Anti-vax Canary Party's Jennifer Larson contributed $1000 to Jeremy Munson.
Photo: Former Rep. Tony Cornish in better days.
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