By Mike Kaszuba
The Minnesota Supreme Court ruled Monday that Dan "Doc" Severson, the Republican candidate for secretary of state, cannot use his nickname on the ballot.
The order, by Chief Justice Lorie Gildea, instructed that Secretary of State Mark Ritchie's office remove Severson's nickname from the November ballot. In last week's primary election, where he was allowed to use the nickname, Severson ran unopposed as a Republican and collected 112,903 votes. He will oppose Ritchie, a DFLer, in November.
"It's not a big deal. It was kind of anticipated," said Severson, who said a court case challenging his use of the "Doc" nickname was backed by DFL activists and was "the typical DFL dirty tricks stuff."
"I've got a 28-year history with the name," said Severson, who said the nickname was given to him during his days as a Navy pilot. "Dan or 'Doc' is fine, but I'd rather be known [as] 'Mr. Election Integrity' ", referring to his quest to become the state's top administrator on election issues.
