politics

Gathered together. In front of microphones. Answering questions.

The 2010 candidates for governor just can't stop meeting like that.

Since the Aug. 10 primary, there have been seven debates, with a major State Fair debate slated for Friday. The candidates already have debated more often than previous candidates did in an entire election year, and there are potentially about two dozen more debates to go.

This year more than most, the candidates are showing up.

The forums offer free coverage to Republican Tom Emmer, DFLer Mark Dayton and Independence Party (IP) candidate Tom Horner. They want Minnesotans to know them beyond their 30-second TV ads, and have a tough time getting publicity since none is an incumbent. But the free publicity comes at a price.

"You wear yourself down. ... You start making mistakes," said Mike Hatch, the DFL candidate for governor in 2006. Hatch, Republican Gov. Tim Pawlenty and Independence Party candidate Peter Hutchinson had only seven debates.

More debates aren't necessarily better from a candidate's perspective. "Five-minute canned answers are not the solution to America," Hatch said.

Reward

In most years, opposing candidates' campaigns get together and decide how many debates they will attend. But that kind of coordination hasn't happened this year.

This time around, each candidate is deciding on his own which forum to attend and which to skip.

"Typically, debates don't occur unless it's in the self-interest of each candidate," said Democratic attorney David Lillehaug, who has long coached Minnesota candidates through debates. "Each of the three candidates has a good reason to debate or, more accurately, no reason to duck them."

The potential payoff is greatest for Horner, of the small third party. His partisans lack the cash to run a heavy-hitting paid media campaign, and his pitch that he's the mainstream man in the middle plays better if Dayton and Emmer snipe at each other on a stage. Many believe that former IP Gov. Jesse Ventura won in 1998 because he made a good showing in debates.

For Emmer, a nearly unknown state lawmaker just a few months ago, it is a chance to define himself and personalize his message of lower taxes and smaller government. Besides, when he skipped one outstate debate, he was criticized for days.

Conventional wisdom says Dayton could better afford to skip some debates -- he is better known and is thought to have more cash to spend. Fewer debates also would reduce risk of a misstep. But, his campaign said, he doesn't want to look like he is "ducking." Besides, he is more seasoned than his rivals, and seeing that contrast may help him win voters who want certainty in a time of economic turmoil.

Risk

So far Emmer, Dayton and Horner have avoided major blunders in their meetings.

Although candidates prepare for debates, the forums are live and the unexpected can cause unforced errors.

"When you are trying to control as much as you can in a campaign, in debates there is a level of risk," said Mike Zipko, a Goff & Howard public relations executive who has been involved in Minnesota politics for decades.

Meeting after meeting, the questions can get a little wacky and the candidates a little tired, increasing the chance that an offhand remark could blow up into a massive problem.

Still, with so many debates, candidates have plenty of opportunities to recover from a mistake.

But time spent preparing for and attending debates are "hours you cannot be on the phone, rattling the tin cup" for donations or meeting voters who wouldn't show up for the forums, said Lillehaug, a one-time candidate for U.S. Senate.

Further, the debates can get, well, boring.

"If you have a multitude of debates, the value of each one is diminished and essentially the same thing is said at each of them," said Brian McClung, a former Pawlenty aide now running a pro-Emmer business group.

That means candidates can hone their messages to a fine, shimmering point. It also means their opponents can equally sharpen their retorts.

"All the other candidates know what the other guy is going to say, so after a while it looks like a professional wrestling match, where each move that comes at them is anticipated and they have a retort ready to go," said McClung.

Rachel E. Stassen-Berger • 651-292-0164