In Re The Senate Race

The upcoming Minnesota Senate race, say some, is a foregone conclusion. A-Klo in a walkover, says the conventional wisdom.

The MNGOP has three candidates vying for the nomination, so far.. Former State Representative Dan Severson is, by most accounts, the front-running. Joe Arwood and Tony Hernandez round out the field of applicants so far.

I’ve interviewed Dan many times; in a just world, he’d be the Secretary of State today. Hernandez ran a tireless State Senate campaign last fall in Saint Paul – which is like saying “the Light Brigade sure charged with energy!”, sure, but Hernandez is an amazingly sharp, capable guy. And I met Joe Arwood over the weekend; I think he has a future in politics, too. I could vote for any of them, after any of them gets nominated.

But let’s spitball for just a moment here.

What, according to the “conventional wisdom”, does the GOP need to win the Senate race?

The candidate has to be…:

Someone with some name ID.
Someone with some fundraising mojo. That’s huge; with the departure of Bill Guidera from the race, I’m personally not seeing a fundraising superstar in the line-up.
Let’s be honest – conservative. A-Klo has done a good job of fooling Minnesotans into thinking she’s “Center”-left, although she’s feeling confident enough in her chances that she’s actually come out and co-sponsored some Obama-blessed legislation – something she’s eschewed (along with most work of any kind) so far in her career in the Senate; she’ll have the media to cover for her and shade her to the center. The GOP loses nothing by presenting voters a real ideological alternative.
Female. Hey, it counts. Minnesotans, I suspect, are hooked on the idea of their Senate delegation being a mixed doubles team.

So as I was thinking about this the other day, someone said “what do you think about Bridget Sutton?”

Sutton – a businesswoman who is currently on the Inver Grove Heights school board, is the wife of MNGOP chair Tony Sutton – which would be a two-edged sword, not only as a shrieking point for the DFL and media (pardon, as always, as always, the redundancy) but with elements of the MNGOP that are not happy with the current regime.

On the other hand, Sutton is smart, savvy, and would mulch Klobuchar in a debate.

So what does the assembled multitude think?

And who are we missing here?

Posted

November 16, 2011

Campaign ’12, Minnesota Politics, MNGOP

Mitch Berg

Tags:

A-Klo

Comments

14 responses to “In Re The Senate Race”

LearnedFoot

November 16, 2011

If nominated, I will not run. If elected, I will not serve.
Mr. D

November 16, 2011

If nominated, I will not run. If elected, I will not serve.

Crap, there goes my suggestion.

The obvious choice to me would be John Kline, but I’m sure he’s happy staying right where he is. I’ve not met Bridget, but she seems impressive, although I suspect you are correct that the animus that Tony Sutton faces would be an obstacle.

Maybe Laura Brod?
Kermit

November 16, 2011

Jesse Ventura!!!!
Earsall Mackbee

November 16, 2011

Is Bridget Sutton a fat pig too? (This argument courtesy of Seflores).
BradC

November 16, 2011

I think Bridget would be great, but I don’t believe she has the desire to run. I’d love to see it though!

Laura Brod is great, too! She could rout Klobee in a debate but would do so in a “death by a thousand cuts” manner as opposed to a sledgehammer to the head.
Night Writer

November 16, 2011

If nominated, I will not run. If elected, I will not serve.”

Actually, doesn’t that describe A-Klo’s senate career? She barely had to run, and there’s precious little serving to be observed. Supposedly, she’s good with a joke, though.
Mr. D

November 16, 2011

She barely had to run, and there’s precious little serving to be observed.

Well, she solved the pool drain issue, even as the economy has been going down the drain.
bosshoss429

November 16, 2011

I agree that Laura Brod would be an excellent pick! I’m not very familiar with Bridget Sutton, but from what I have been able to ascertain, she seems like she would also be an excellent pick.

Personally, I believe that a dead Asian carp would be a better choice than Amy “I’m livin’ off my dad’s name” Klobuchar!
justplainangry

November 16, 2011

Sutton is smart, savvy, and would mulch Klobuchar in a debate.

Am I the only one who thinks there will be no interparty debates in 2012? Not on a state level, nor federal? I just cannot see any demoncRAT agreeing to be part of any.
nate

November 16, 2011

How about adding Smart and Hot to the requirements?

Katie Kieffer?

Kathleen Blatz?
First Ringer

November 16, 2011

Brod would be excellent, but she passed on running earlier this year.

The problem with finding someone who actually fits Mitch’s criteria (of which I agree), is that most of the political figures who fit the bill don’t like running against the conventional wisdom of being the GOP’s sacrifical lamb. So in a similar vein to Mitch, I’d suggest Annette Meeks. Annette likely has little interest in a political career (I was surprised she accepted Emmer’s Lt. Gov. slot), has “run” statewide, and is a fount of knowledge on policy questions. Would she win? I doubt it right now, but she wouldn’t get embarassed – and the GOP legslative candidates certainly don’t want any DFL coat-tails from a Klobuchar rout at the top of the ticket.

I think if a stronger GOP candidate is going to get in this contest, he or she will have to get drafted into it. I seriously doubt anyone is going to jump in blindly, assuming that the base wants them. Bigger names have passed because they’ve assumed the support isn’t there. I go back to an anecdote I heard from several sources about Bill Guidera’s would-be candidacy. Despite Bill’s NewsCorp ties, conservative bona fides, and strong stage presence, Bill was shot down by a number of conservative business leaders who said they’d support him against Franken, but not Klobuchar. Why? Half of them liked A-Klo, the other half didn’t want to piss her off. Again, it’s an anecdote, so take it with a grain of salt if you wish.
Terry

November 16, 2011

Milla Jovovich.
I mean, what good will Amy be when the streets are full of zombies? Plus, unlike Klobuchar, there is no chance that Milla will be in the pocket of Umbrella Corp.
Ben

November 16, 2011

Pat Anderson
Mr. D

November 16, 2011

Nate, I think Katie Kieffer is still on the short side of 30 and wouldn’t be eligible. I could absolutely see Katie in public office some day, but she’s pursuing other agendas right now and is very good at what she’s doing.