Farmfest's a political feast

If the phrase Gilfillan Estate makes you think politics, you've been to Farmfest in an election year.

On the Gilfillan land in Redwood County Wednesday, the 2010 gubernatorial candidates will bring back all those memories and, they hope, cement good ones into rural voters' minds.

Farmfest, the state's largest agriculture trade show, can make or break candidates, said Rep. Al Juhnke, DFL-Willmar and chair of the House agriculture committee.

"It is does become a bellwether," said Rep. Al Juhnke, DFL-Willmar and chair of the House agriculture committee. "Once a year there is a chance to tout what you know or think or believe about agriculture."

This year, DFLers Margaret Anderson Kelliher, Mark Dayton and Matt Entenza, Republican Tom Emmer and Independence Party's Tom Horner and (updated) Rob Hahn, will get that chance at 10:30 am Wednesday.

For candidates, the Farmfest impression may be crucial. Next week, the DFLers and the IP candidates will face off in a primary.

"It will get reported in virtually every rural paper...Editorial pages are paying attention," said Juhnke. "People are listening very closely."

"This is the one that he decided to do right from the beginning. This is a really important event in Minnesota on the calendar, " said Emmer's deputy campaign manager Bill Walsh. "You need to go and you need to be on that stage."

But Emmer's appearance means the other candidates will have a chance to come face-to-face with the candidate the others -- particularly the Democrats and Horner -- have beat up for months.

"They've been using Tom as a whipping boy, which is probably good politics, and they've been very disciplined at not hurting each other. They've been making Tom Emmer the target or Tim Pawlenty the target," Walsh said of past DFL and IP debates. "I don't think you'll see Tom get into that fray."