The Star Tribune editorial board has endorsed Tom Horner as the best choice for Minnesota in the Independence Party gubernatorial primary.

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Editorial: Horner is Best Choice for IP

Editorial Board
Star Tribune
August 2, 2010

In the full field of candidates for governor, DFLers and Republicans included, Tom Horner may be the best-connected to the state’s leading businesses.

The little Independence Party may have dwindled in numbers and clout since its Jesse Ventura heyday. But it remains a potentially significant force in this year’s gubernatorial election. Voters in the Aug. 10 primary will do much to determine whether the IP’s influence this year is benign, positive or pernicious.

Only one candidate in the five-way IP field is gubernatorial material. Tom Horner, a public-relations professional, businessman and longtime Republican activist, ought to easily secure the IP spot on the general-election ballot.

Horner, a former chief of staff to U.S. Sen. Dave Durenberger, is well-known in state government circles and well-schooled in public policy and organizational leadership. He has mounted a genuine statewide campaign, and is offering thoughtful proposals to address a wide range of state problems.

In the full field of candidates for governor, DFLers and Republicans included, Horner may be the best-connected to the state’s leading businesses, having been a paid adviser to a number of them. And in the entire field, he most convincingly describes how reform of both the state tax code and delivery of services could contribute to balancing the state budget.

Horner has an ally in that area in Jim Mulder, his policy-oriented running mate. Mulder recently stepped down after many years heading the Association of Minnesota Counties, where he led projects that produced a stream of innovative cost-saving ideas for improving government.

Despite those strengths, Horner and his backers dare not take the primary for granted. He has a voluble, ambitious challenger in Rob Hahn, a St. Paul-based magazine publisher and author who has written a soon-to-be-released book about a candidate named “Robbob” running for governor.

Nothing in Hahn’s background suggests that he is prepared to govern this state. But he’s telegenic, articulate and a quick study — particularly of talking points that create an impression that he knows state government well. That impression fades upon questioning. He’s also an aggressive debater — extremely so on last week’s MPR “Midmorning” program. News that his ex-wife obtained a protection order against him last year reinforces doubts about his suitability for office.

Those doubts ought to deter the mischief that has been hinted to be afoot — a concerted effort among Republican activists to cast ballots for Hahn on Aug. 10, in order to deny nomination to the more formidable Horner. The civic consciences of Republican leaders ought to be robust enough to reject such gamesmanship. Still, the possibility that some may fall into temptation should propel Horner backers to the polls on Aug. 10. …

Full editorial

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For more information about Tom Horner’s campaign for governor, visit www.Horner2010.com. Tom Horner needs a strong voter turnout in the August 10 primary to overcome the possible “mischief” by far-right Republican ideologues alluded to by the Star Tribune editorial board.

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Related reports on this site

Strib: Horner ‘Serious Contender’ (Sept. 12, 2010)

Tom Horner at the State Fair (Aug. 30, 2010)

‘Eyeballs’ — Tom Horner TV Ad (Aug. 23, 2010)

Tom Horner Speaks in St. Cloud (Aug. 16, 2010)

Tom Horner for Minnesota Governor (Aug. 9, 2010)

Horner 2010 Gains Momentum (July 19, 2010)

Horner Campaign at Granite City (June 26, 2010)

Tom Horner Rises in the Polls (June 8, 2010)

Tom Horner’s Statewide Swing (May 12, 2010)

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FROM THE ARCHIVES: One Year Ago — August 2, 2009

MIA Scott Speicher Recovered

Video

Pilot’s remains found after 18 years (MSNBC, Aug. 2, 2009) — The remains of the first American military member to be lost in the Gulf War have been found in Iraq 18 years later. NBC’s Jim Miklaszewski reports. (01:10)

One-year retrospective: One year ago today, I reported that the U.S. Department of Defense announced that the Armed Forces Institute of Pathology had positively identified remains recovered in Iraq as those of Navy Captain Michael Scott Speicher, whose F/A-18 Hornet was shot down in a combat mission over Iraq on January 17, 1991 in the first hours of Operation Desert Storm.

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FROM THE ARCHIVES: Two Years Ago — August 2, 2008

On the Campaign Trail: Day 19

Two-year retrospective: Two years ago today, on the 19th day of my 2008 campaign against incumbent U.S. Rep. Michele Bachmann for the Republican nomination in Minnesota’s 6th Congressional District, I walked in the Albany Heritage Day Parade with my daughter Elizabeth and youngest son Patrick while my two older sons, Tim and Matt, attended a youth baseball clinic and a Minnesota Twins game at the Metrodome.