Down, Boy
The Strib says former Senator Rod Grams is thinking about running against Mark Dayton in '06:
Grams said Tuesday that he's had about a dozen conversations with Republicans and former supporters who have asked him to consider a run for the party's nomination, so he intends to begin talking to other activists and party leaders.
"If it looks very promising, and I think it might, then I would toss my hat in the ring," said Grams. "I just want to be a little more sure."
He defeated DFLer Ann Wynia in the 1994 U.S. Senate race before losing his reelection bid to Dayton.
And in his six years in the Senate, Rod Grams accomplished more than Paul Wellstone did in 12, and vastly more than Brave Sir Mark Dayton will do in his entire career.
Of course, the media in '00 was in the bag for Dayton; they harped endlessly on Grams' divorce and personal life (ignoring Mark Dayton's rather spotty history in that area), and pinned the antics of his estranged son Morgan (of whom he had never had custody, and who was raised by his ex-wife). They did everything but deploy armed thugs to GOP districts to deliver the election to Dayton.
Grams certainly has a following among the grass roots in the party, where he's known as a great guy. When I was heavily involved with the concealed carry reform movement, Grams was a genuine friend of the Second Amendment.
But politics is dicey about comebacks. Says "Politics in Minnesota"'s Sarah Janecek
Unfortunately for him, Republicans not long ago witnessed a comeback attempt [former Sen. Rudy Boschwitz in 1996] and they lost."
I'm a big tossup on Grams. Unlike Mark Kennedy, he's a proven quantity in the Senate. Also unlike Kennedy, he's lost.
Who else? Mary Kiffmeyer is an appealing candidate, and she's stirred things up as Secratary of State - but the stuff she's stirred up is the kind of thing that only wonks care about. Rep. Kennedy is an obvious front-runner, but he has to work on his campaigning. Gutknecht, I think, would have a very hard time running in the Metro. Brian Sullivan did well in the chase for the '00 gubernatorial nod - his strong showing is responsible for Pawlenty being as conservative as he is - but he's no more conservative or popular than Grams; I'd be worried about them splitting the conservative vote and handing the nomination to someone too moderate. Two years ago, I thought State Auditor Pat Anderson would be a natural choice, but personal turmoil and the "Telegate" "scandal" took her out of the public eye. It's a shame.
The DFL, of course, reacts like any politician would react when tied to a brick like Mark Dayton:
DFL Party communications director Bill Amberg said the flurry of explorers "is the Republicans' business and not for us to worry about right now. ... Mark is continuing to show the people of Minnesota an honesty and straightforwardness that is increasingly rare, and whether his opponent is Grams or Gutknecht or Kennedy or Kiffmeyer, he will build on those strengths and win reelection."
Right. That's just what I was thinking.
Posted by Mitch at
February 2, 2005 07:23 AM
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Go Rod!
Posted by: Paul Carter at February 2, 2005 11:39 AMI volunteered with Grams 2000 campaign, and while there were some great people there, it just was not well run. There was no consistant message, some very bad planning, and generally everything was just off. Grams could have won that campaign, but he never seemed to get any real momentum in that race.
I think Kennedy's the likeliest contender in 2006, and I agree he needs to work on his campaigning, but I think he'd win. I know Gutknecht has expressed some interest in that seat, but he just doesn't play well outside his district. He's nowhere near slick enough to cross over statewide.
Kiffmeyer is one of the nicest people in politics and a real class act. I'm not sure she's really looking for a Senate run, but if she did I think she could pull one off.
In any event, the GOP is lucky, we've got a choice of several strong candidates. The DFL is stuck with Dayton who is a weak candidate with no message. Sadly, Bush bashing him will probably get him 40% of the vote in Minnesota, but that's not enough to win.
Posted by: Jay Reding at February 2, 2005 02:08 PMI have a friend at NFIB that says that the Mn GOP raised less than $2miilion for Grams the last time against Dayton.Dayton won by fewer than 50,000 votes after admitting to spending at least $11 million of his own money.My friend said it was closer to over $16 miliion overall.Well,Dayton is vulnerable and doesn't have that kind of money after his divorce.All the GOP needs is a good candidate and a shot of him sweating & wild-eyed at the MSP airport after he left DC over terror alerts..
Posted by: Ed Viehman at February 2, 2005 02:46 PMYou are forgeting the "phoney-email-sending girlfriend-on-the-payroll" scandal. While Rod did right by us conservatives Legislatively, his personal life made the hypocrisy label stick pretty firmly. I had to choke back a gag last time I voted for him.
I think Rod Grams is the only guy Dayton beat, frankly speaking.
We need to elect leaders to these high profile posts, not just GOP placeholders. I would really like to see if Mary Kiffmeyer could put together a successful bid.
Posted by: Rick at February 2, 2005 03:54 PMEd, IIRC Dayton was already divorced in 2000 but you’re correct about the raw numbers in that Dayton vastly outspent Grams although that doesn’t include the independent expenditure ads.
I’m not sure where I stand on Grams running for a second term. As Mitch can attest, no one was a bigger Grams supporter than I but there is the problem of the media spinning this as a grudge match and those don’t work out too well for the challenger. At least in Minnesota, South Dakota’s another matter.
That being said, Grams was a terrific Senator overall and almost dead-on when it came to Social Security reform* and foreign policy – two issues that move front-and-center since the 2000 election and where Dayton is clearly lacking. Add in that the media and political landscape has changed since 2000 and I think, should be he the nominee, there’s a good chance of a come-back.
* While I prefer his proposal to let workers invest 10 percent of FICA over the likely proposal to only let them invest only 4 percent of FICA, I think he was wrong to oppose raising the retirement age.
Posted by: Thorley Winston at February 2, 2005 04:03 PMI might be the only person who smells a rat here, but it certainly looks to me like there are stories running that have little basis in anything more than speculation. Grams might flirt with this, Gutknecht is thinking about that... I think the DFL wants there to be a catfight for the Republican nomination to split support from Kennedy. And so it runs stories like this from an AP stringer.
Posted by: kb at February 2, 2005 04:32 PM"I think Rod Grams is the only guy Dayton beat, frankly speaking. "
While this was true, I meant to say I think Grams is the only challenger who if campaigns properly can still lose to dayton.
Posted by: rick at February 2, 2005 04:36 PMcourthouses resemblances:choice Hastings,leaky?afflicted deus.diachronic plaintiveness:
Posted by: at June 26, 2006 11:55 PM