Keeping up the Minnesota Reformer's reporting on Minnesota Republicans' pushing pot-party candidates in political campaigns in swing districts--the better to tip the odds for a Republican victory--Deena Winter reported Thursday GOP helped pro-pot state auditor candidate raise enough money to get $29,000 subsidy.
Winter reports:
A bevy of less-than-groovy Republicans made a flurry of donations to a pot party candidate last summer.
The donations came days before a July deadline for Tim Davis of the Legal Marijuana Now Party to raise enough money to get a public subsidy for his state auditor campaign, giving him a cash infusion to potentially pull votes from DFL State Auditor Julie Blaha. . . .
Campaign finance records show Republicans donated over $1,000 to the Davis campaign in the days leading up to a July 18 deadline for Davis to raise at least $6,000 to get a public subsidy. . . .
In recent years, Republicans have been colluding with friendly candidates to run on the line of the state’s two marijuana legalization parties — Legal Marijuana Now and Grassroots Legalize Cannabis — in an effort to pull votes from DFL candidates.
While Winter mentions a number of individual Republican officer-holders and candidates by name, the article doesn't mention Steven Swoboda, though his $50.00 donation is likely included in the $1000 total.
If this is the same Steven Swoboda who ran as the Republican candidate in Minnesota House District 53B the contribution comes with another wrinkle in the collusion.
A pot party candidate was on the ballot in the district. Not quite a swarming hive, but another example of the Republican approach.
Laura Pride, a Legal Marijuana Now candidate, also ran in Minnesota House District 53B. Pride ran as an Affidavit Only candidate. so no campaign finance information is available at the Minnesota Campaign Finance and Public Disclosure Board. According to the board, "If the candidate is going to receive more than $750 from supporters to get elected or wants to receive public money, the candidate must form a campaign committee
We won't speculate on Swoboda's motives on funding an up-ticket candidate from a party that's fielded a candidate in his own race, though we suspect the Minnesota Reformer is on to something.
Hansen's district was also targeted by an outside political action committee, the Alexandria VA basedPAC, Make Liberty Win, which spent 1000s on independent expenditures in 6 Minnesota Legislative races, as Bluestem reported last fall in Make Liberty Win's independent expenditures bring nastygram money to the Gopher State.
Neither the pot candidate nor the outside independent expenditures appear to have made much of a difference.
Pollinator champion and House Environment and Natural Resource Finance and Policy Committee Chair Hansen captured 54.36 percent of the vote, with Swoboda getting 39.28 percent of the vote and Pride 6.28 percent. Davis received 876 votes, or 5.17 percent of the vote, in the district in the auditor's race.
Apparently, voters in the newly redistricted area were looking for a different kind of buzz.
Related post
Screengrab: A contribution by a Steven Swoboda to LMN party state auditor candidate Tim Davis. From Page 7 of the campaign's year end report.
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