By Mike Kaszuba

The Alliance for a Better Minnesota, a non-profit backed by unions and supporters of DFL gubernatorial candidate Mark Dayton, is taking heavy aim at Tom Horner.

After focusing much of their criticism on Republican gubernatorial candidate Tom Emmer, the group is turning its attention to Horner, the Independence Party candidate who is winning steady support in the polls. In a new website, "The Truth About Tom Horner", the group said Horner has been a "Republican insider for 30 years" and that Horner's former public relations company, Himle Horner Inc., has won state contracts because of its political ties. "Can a 30-year Republican operative really call himself an independent?" the website asks. The website emphasized Horner's work as a staff member for former Republican U.S. Senator Dave Durenberger, and also pointed out Horner's campaign contributions to Republican Gov. Tim Pawlenty. "With nearly 30 years of Republican cheerleading under his belt, he's not fooling anybody," the website stated. Matt Lewis, a Horner spokesman, said the website was further proof that Horner was making gains among both Republican and DFL voters, and that both parties were now anxious to discredit him. "It only provides more wind at our sails, we think. You know, they're taking us more seriously. They're worried about their base," he said. Lewis said that while DFLers were painting Horner as a Republican who "gives money to Pawlenty", Republicans were portraying him as a DFLer because "he voted for [President] Obama." The new website also said that Horner's proposal to expand the state sales tax to "clothes, haircuts and many good and services" would financially impact middle-class Minnesotans. "Where does this money go? It pays for business tax cuts," the website said.