Gubernatorial bid for Lt. Gov. Carol Molnau?

Lt. Gov. Carol Molnau seems hopeful of a stay in politics, whether at the State Capitol or running for the U.S. House.

By MIKE KASZUBA and PAT DOYLE, Star Tribune staff writers

Last update: August 6, 2009 - 9:48 PM

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Minnesota bridges rated: An interactive map of bridges that are "structurally deficient," "functionally obsolete" or have gusset plates like those on the I-35W bridge.

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With Gov. Tim Pawlenty not seeking another term and a competitive race to succeed him heating up, Lt. Gov. Carol Molnau is pondering her own future.

In a pair of interviews, including one at Farmfest, where Molnau appeared Thursday, the controversial Republican lieutenant governor said she was discussing her future plans with her family. She left open the possibility that she would join the growing field of 2010 gubernatorial candidates.

Though she said she has not been approached to run, Molnau also is being mentioned as a possible opponent of Democratic First District Congressman Tim Walz.

Seventeen months after she was ousted as the head of the Minnesota Department of Transportation in the aftermath of the Interstate 35W bridge collapse, Molnau has largely kept a low profile. Her official appearances typically have been at small gatherings, particularly in outstate Minnesota, where Republican officials said her appeal is strongest.

"My family and I have done some talking and ... we haven't come to a conclusion," Molnau said Thursday at Farmfest of a possible gubernatorial bid.

But the day before, contacted at her home in rural Lafayette, Molnau was more vague about finishing her term, which runs through 2010. When asked, Molnau replied, "God knows that -- I'm not sure. Everybody assumes that that will happen, but nobody knows what tomorrow will bring, so I'm not sure."

Pawlenty, who also appeared on Thursday at Farmfest, said his two-term Republican running mate had indicated she would finish her term, and said Molnau had not informed him of any plans to run for Congress.

Former House Minority Leader Marty Seifert, R-Marshall, said that Molnau, along with state Sen. Julie Rosen, R-Fairmont, and Rep. Rod Hamilton, R-Mountain Lake, were most often mentioned as "dream candidates" who could raise the funds needed for a congressional race.

Molnau, he added, "would have a couple of million dollars worth of name [recognition] that you wouldn't have to try to buy."

State Republican Party chairman Tony Sutton said Molnau's name has been mentioned as a possible First District Congressional candidate along with other Republicans. He said party officials think Walz may be vulnerable. "It's creating some buzz [among Republicans] that, 'Hey, maybe this guy can be beat,''' Sutton said. "Activists are talking about, 'Hey, who would be great to run? Well, you know, there's so-and-so and so-and-so and how about Carol Molnau?'"

But Molnau's tenure at MnDOT, particularly her decision to stay out of the public eye as the agency faced heavy scrutiny following the bridge collapse, may still be affecting her political image.

"My sense is that she starts as a person with some high negatives ... which would, you know, bode against it," said Dan Hofrenning, a political science professor at St. Olaf College. "But she's not a figure like [Democrat] Hillary Clinton, [in] that they're salient negatives. Not too many people think about what the lieutenant governor did."

State DFL Chair Brian Melendez said, however, that many Minnesotans have not forgotten Molnau's tenure. "I'd love to see Carol Molnau as a candidate for governor, because convincing Minnesotans that she's unsuited for the top job wouldn't be a heavy lift," he said. "The last thing that Minnesota needs is a meaner version of ... Pawlenty."

Mike Kaszuba • 651-222-1673 Pat Doyle • 651-222-1210

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