MN: Ranked Choice Gives Greens a Boost

From Twin Cities:

In November, voters in the St. Paul City Council election will be able to choose up to six candidates per seat, ranked in order of preference. In other words, downtown residents could conceivably vote for all five candidates who have filed to run for office in Ward 2.
Nov. 8 will mark the city's first experience with the new "ranked voting" system, otherwise known as "instant run-off voting" or "ranked-choice voting," which was supported by voters in a ballot question last year. . .  

Jim Ivey, former political chair for the Green Party of Minnesota, said ranked-choice voting has boosted his party's chances at the polls. He thinks the Green Party will no longer be looked upon as a potential "spoiler" in tight races.

"We worked for years to make this happen," said Ivey, a Lowertown resident who is running for city council in Ward 2. "The Green Party was a key supporter. It's strategic for creating a third-party presence in local politics. It gives people a chance to vote for what they really believe in, and know that there's no risk in doing that....It's great for us."

It's been such a draw, in fact, that the party has recruited a slate of local candidates, some of whom have no previous Green Party affiliation but share the party's "progressive" values, Ivey said.

MN: Greens Begin Recruitment Effort for Local Races

From the Twin Cities Daily Planet:

The Green Party of St. Paul began a new effort to recruit candidates for upcoming 2011 local elections June 16, as candidates and around 40 supporters gathered to launch the effort dubbed Green St. Paul.The campaign is an attempt to change the party’s sporadic track record in local elections by recruiting candidates to run for local office, said Green St. Paul co-chair Roger Meyer.

“We don’t have a history of running candidates in local elections,” said Meyer at the press conference outside the Greater Frogtown Community Development Corporation office. “I don’t even know the last time we had a City Council candidate.”

The Green Party has officially endorsed three candidates in local races. . . .

MN: Independence Party Opposes Imposition of "State-Sponsored Morality"

From the Minnesota Independent:

The Independence Party of Minnesota is the latest political party in Minnesota to oppose a proposed ballot initiative that would write a ban on same-sex marriage into the Minnesota Constitution, and it’s the second party with major party status here to oppose the measure.

IP leaders released a video explaining their opposition to the amendment, and the chair of the party released a statement urging Minnesotans to vote “no” in November 2012. Already, the DFL and Libertarian Party have called on voters to reject the amendment, while the Green Party of Minnesota has long supported full marriage equality for same-sex couples.

IP chair Mark Jenkins cited the party’s platform: “We oppose having the government impose state-sponsored morality or values on people of good conscience with differing views.” . . .

MN: Libertarian Party Opposes GOP Measure to Ban Gay Marriage

From the LPMN:

In an unusual action, the Libertarian Party of Minnesota held a special meeting on May 7 to consider a response to the anti-liberty legislation now being proposed by Republican legislators in the Minnesota House and Senate.

By an 11-0 vote, the LPMN Executive Committee unanimously passed a resolution opposing a constitutional amendment that would prohibit gays from becoming married.

The proposed Gay Marriage Ban would expand government control and restrict the freedom of consenting adults to live their own lives as they choose. Libertarians believe that marriage is a private matter between individuals . . .

MN-House: Strongest Showing by Third Party and Independent Candidates Since 1944

From Eric Ostermeier at Smart Politics:

A Smart Politics analysis of election returns since the early 1940s finds that the 5 percent mark notched by third party and independent candidates on Election Day across six congressional districts in Minnesota was the largest such number since 1942, the last election cycle before the DFL merger.

MN: Grand Forks Herald Endorses Tom Horner (I) for Governor

From the Grand Forks Herald:

It has to be one of the saddest trends of modern times. On scatter charts that map political polarization in Congress, the red or Republican dots drift right over time while the blue or Democratic dots drift left — to the point that today, there’s virtually no overlap between the most conservative Democrat and the most liberal Republican. The same thing is happening in the Minnesota Legislature. And on Nov. 2, voters can elect a governor who further weights one side of that divide. Or they can elect someone who bridges it. Tom Horner is that bridge-building candidate, and he deserves Minnesotans’ vote. Horner is the right man for this simple reason: He is the candidate who stands by far the best chance of erasing Minnesota’s crushing budget deficit.

MN: Growing Group of Former GOP Leaders Endorse Independence Party Candidate for Governor, Tom Horner

From Twin Cities:

A handful of retired Republican state lawmakers publicly endorsed Independence Party gubernatorial candidate Tom Horner on Wednesday, an event that may indicate how much of a threat the third-party candidate represents to Republican nominee Tom Emmer.

At a Capitol news conference, Horner campaign manager Steve Imholte dismissed Emmer, saying the race was between Horner and Democratic-Farmer-Labor nominee Mark Dayton, who leads in the polls. However, Horner's best polling numbers place him a distant third in the race, while Emmer sits several percentage points behind Dayton.

Minnesota Greens Outraged at FBI Raids of Activists' Homes

From Green Party Watch:

Green Party of Minnesota Supports Peace Activists Raided by FBI
News that five homes of well-known peace activists in Minneapolis had been raided and searched by FBI agents yesterday morning brought expressions of outrage from members of the Green Party´s state coordinating committee. They voiced support for the Anti War Committee and other local groups with which the activists are associated. They believe that accusations of material aid to terrorism are intended to intimidate all who protest.

MN: Former Republican Governor Endorses Independence Party Gubernatorial Candidate Tom Horner

From the Star Tribune:

Former Republican Gov. Arne Carlson threw his support behind Independence Party candidate Tom Horner Monday morning, saying he provides the "reasonable common sense voice" in the governor's race.

MN: Independence Party will run most third party candidates for US House since 1944

From Smart Politics:

Independence Party leads the way with seven - the most third party U.S. House candidates to run in any election cycle since the DFL merger in 1944 . . . A Smart Politics analysis of Minnesota historical election data finds that the number of independent and third party candidates set to appear on the ballot in November's election is the highest in any midterm election year since the DFL merger in 1944.

The article also contains a handy graph listing the "number and affiliations of Minnesota Independent and Third Party Candidates in U.S. House races, 1944-2010."  

MN: Tom Horner Garnering 13% in Gubernatorial Race

From Daily Kos:

The University of Minnesota is out with new numbers in the state's interesting and competitive gubernatorial race. Unlike most pollsters, which have shown Republican Tom Emmer fading badly, the UM poll shows a coin flip, with both Emmer and Democrat Mark Dayton at 34% of the vote. Meanwhile, Independent candidate Tom Horner is at 13%, one of his better polling showings in the cycle.

MN: Independence Party Primary Field Taking Shape

From Independent Political Report:

Tom Horner, the Independence Party of Minnesota endorsed candidate, still has to face a primary against several other Independence Party gubernatorial candidates in a primary. He announced his running mate on the last day of filing.

Independence Party candidate for governor Tom Horner marked the final day of Minnesota’s candidate filing period by announcing he has picked former Association of Minnesota Counties executive director Jim Mulder as his lieutenant governor running mate.

MN: Constitution Party Nominates 10 Candidates for Endorsement

From the CP Discussion Forum, a press release:

Minnesota, May 11, 2010

WHAT: Delegates from across Minnesota assembled at the Brookdale Public Library in Brooklyn Center on Saturday, May 8, 2010 to hear from candidates seeking office for various levels of government and voting for or against their endorsement. After deliberations on resolutions for revisions to the CPMN platform, the delegates listened intently as candidates articulated why and how they could bring responsibility to government and produce a blueprint to peacefully and lawfully bring about compliance with the Constitution … the very Freedom document that all elected officials have sworn an oath to uphold.

Endorsed for the MN Supreme Court - Tim Tingelstad, Greg Wersal, Dan Griffin
7th Congressional District - Gene Waldorf from Grey Eagle
8th Congressional District - Richard (George) Burton from Brainerd
MN Senate 12 - Stephen Park from Nisswa
MN Senate 17 - Paul Bergley from Isanti
MN Senate 50 - Rae Hart Anderson from St. Paul
MN House 40A - Bruce Johnson from Burnsville
MN House 49B - Harley Swarm from Coon Rapids

MN: Constitution Party Hopeful to Challenge Duopoly System in CD-8

From the Brainerd Dispatch:

The way Republicans and Democrats acted together to approve a financial bailout package before the 2008 elections helped convince George Burton of rural Brainerd there was a "good old boys club" that needed to be challenged.

Burton doesn't buy the argument that the financial bailout was necessary to prevent another Great Depression.

"That was fictitious," he said. "Things needed to die on the vine."

Although he's not yet guaranteed a place on the ballot, the owner of Burt Electric was endorsed Saturday by the Constitution Party of Minnesota for the 8th District congressional seat now held by Rep. Jim Oberstar, D-Minn. In what Burton said is evidence that the electoral system favors the major parties, Burton is required to gather 1,000 signatures between May 18 and June 1 in order to get on that ballot.

MN: Independence Party Candidate for Governor Proposes Fast Food Tax

From KEYC News:

Gubernatorial Candidate Rob Hahn hasn't even been elected, but he is already making a proposal to generate more revenue for the state.It's called the fat tax and as News 12's Sara Miles tells us it's supposed to also encourage you to eat better while giving money to healthcare.There's Burger King, Arby's and Culvers... when it comes to fast food the choices seem endless... which may be why Americans turn to the meal on the go.And also why Independent Gubernatorial Candidate Rob Hahn is proposing a tax on just those places.

MN: Bob Anderson May Challenge Bachmann on Independence Party Ticket

From the Minnesota Independent:

Bob Anderson, the independent candidate who in 2006 drew votes from Rep. Michele Bachmann and El Tinklenberg, her DFL-Independence Party opposition, says if he gets the Independence party endorsement he will enter the race again this cycle.

MN: Green to Run for State Legislature

Via Green Party Watch:

Green Party member and University of Minnesota alumnus Dan Craigie announced his bid in the state representative race for District 59B on Friday evening at the Oak Street Theatre. Craigie, who graduated from the University in the fall of 2009 with a master’s degree in public policy, will be running against longtime DFL Rep. Phyllis Kahn as well as Republican candidate and fellow University graduate Ole Hovde.

MN: Waldorf to Challenge Peterson as Independent

From the Minn Post:

Gene Waldorf, a former DFL state Senator from St. Paul, told the St. Cloud Times that he'll run for Congress as an independent and challenge DFL U.S. Rep. Collin Peterson.

MN: Independence Candidate for Congress not Beholden to Idols of Democratic and Republican Parties

From the Houston County News:

[Steven] Wilson believes representatives in Washington have to spend less time listening to themselves when it comes to the nation’s budget and more time listening to economists. That’s why he’s on a mission to unseat U.S. Rep. Tim Walz in Minnesota’s First Congressional District in the November election. Wilson, formerly an endorsed Republican candidate to the Minnesota Senate now running as an Independent, made a local stop last week. . . . As an Independent candidate, Wilson said he isn’t bound by the three “political gods” of re-election, supporting the party that got you there and special interest groups. That’s what positions him to be different from other candidates, he said.  “I’ve got the freedom to tell the truth and make the tough decisions,” he said. “What I’m advocating is that we need 10 percent fiscally conservative, third-party independents … occupying seats in Congress by this fall.”

What is an Independent?

A editorial  in Minnesota's Albert Lea Tribune reflects on what it means to say one is an independent:

The Independence Party remains listed by the Minnesota secretary of state as a major political party. But the name is just confusing for everyday voters. People who are not members of any political party are called independents. . . .  Then there is the Independent Party, America’s Independent Party and the American Independent Party. And there are Independent Democrats . . . And there are Independent Republicans . . . Voters who are not party faithfuls, political junkies, politicians or news journalists sure must become confused sometimes. You can just imagine someone asking about a IP candidate: “What’s it mean when they say this guy is independent?”