Leon Oistad, a shrewd political operative who served in the 1980s as chairman of what was then called the state Independent-Republican Party, died Sept. 18 at his home in Karlstad, Minn. He was 72.
Oistad oversaw his party's success in that decade, worked for U.S. Sens. David Durenberger and Rod Grams, and was at the helm of Jon Grunseth's disastrous gubernatorial campaign.
Elected state party chairman in 1983, Oistad oversaw the success of GOP campaigns of 1984, when Sen. Rudy Boschwitz was re-elected by a wide margin and the party took control of the Minnesota House. He also built winning campaigns for Grams and Durenberger.
In the 1990 gubernatorial contest, Oistad was Grunseth's campaign manager when the candidate withdrew from the race amid a personal scandal in October. Republican Arne Carlson, who had lost the primary, took his place on the ballot and beat DFL Gov. Rudy Perpich.
Oistad and the late David Hoium, who served as Grunseth's communications director, wrote a book about the campaign called "There Is No November."
Despite that ordeal, Oistad was a favorite among partisans and political reporters. He was known for his clever sense of humor and political acumen.
Durenberger, an early supporter of Oistad for party chairman, tapped him to run his most difficult campaign in 1988 against former state Attorney General Skip Humphrey. He described Oistad as his "secret weapon," a calm northwestern Minnesota guy who never raised his voice, but kept everybody on track. "You could tell by his expression if he disapproved of what you were doing," Durenberger said.
The former senator's four sons, now in their late 40s and 50s, grew close to Oistad and his family and kept in touch with him and his daughters over the years. Durenberger said his sons were still so fond of Oistad they were "really broken up" when they heard of his death.
