Independence Party endorses Tom Horner for governor

Claiming the middle ground in a race with DFL and Republican candidates, businessman Tom Horner won endorsement for governor Saturday from the Independence Party, which has played a crucial role in the outcome of recent Minnesota gubernatorial elections.

"Minnesota needs an independent-thinking governor to break free of the status quo," Horner told delegates gathered in Bloomington for their endorsing convention.

He prevailed over four other candidates to secure the endorsement on the first ballot, but faces a primary against at least two of them in August.

While even some Horner supporters acknowledge that his pursuit of the governor's office is a long shot, others say the political environment is ripe for a third-party candidate.

"The electorate is surly," said former southern Minnesota U.S. Rep. Tim Penny, who worked for Horner's public relations firm, Himle Horner Inc. "They're not happy with government at any level."

Horner's prescription for solving the long-term $7 billion budget deficit provides an example of his middle-ground approach. The former Republican said some taxes should be cut to stimulate business growth and some government programs should be eliminated to save money.

"The financial crisis facing our state is overwhelming," Horner said. "This is going to take hard choices, politically unpopular choices."

"There is no good public policy that supports cheap cigarettes," Horner said in an interview before voting began on the endorsement.

Jesse Ventura proved a third-party candidate could upset DFLers and Republicans when he became governor in 1998 under the banner of the Reform Party, predecessor to the Independence Party. His successors in the party haven't been so fortunate.

"You have to have a lot of money or celebrity as a third-party candidate to break though in the governor's race," said Carleton College political science Prof. Steven Schier.

But Penny, who has firsthand experience with a third-party insurgency, says the public mood can make a difference. He left the Democratic Party and ran for governor in 2002 as the Independence Party candidate, winning 16 percent of the vote. Republican Tim Pawlenty won with 45 percent and DFLer Roger Moe got 36 percent. It was widely believed that Penny took DFL votes from Moe.

In the 2006 gubernatorial race, the close finish between Pawlenty and DFLer Mike Hatch might have turned on the 6 percent of votes taken by Independence Party candidate Peter Hutchinson.

Worries over splitting the vote

This year, the GOP has reason to worry that Horner could draw votes from Republicans looking for a more moderate candidate than Emmer, said former U.S. Sen. Dave Durenberger, for whom Horner worked.

Assuming Horner wins the primary, Schier said, "It's not good for the Republican Party to have two 'Republican' candidates on the ballot in November." But the threat to the GOP could be offset by "the national mood, which is anti-Democratic," he said.

Horner, who won 68 percent of the delegate votes, faces a primary runoff from at least two Independence Party candidates, Rob Hahn, publisher of Minnesota Prep Sports, and John Uldrich, a retired business executive. Hahn called Horner "a recovering Republican."

Horner said he is concerned Republicans, who don't expect a serious primary challenge, might cross over to vote for an Independence candidate who is less likely to draw GOP voters in the general election. "We need to be very cautious about what might happen and respond to it quickly," he said. "The next challenge for us is going to be, 'Is the money going to be there?' I make no bones about, there's a long ways to go and fundraising is going to be the challenge."

Others who sought the IP nod were Jim Koepke, a former Hennepin County mental health administrator, and party activist Chris Pfeifer.

State Republican Party chairman Tony Sutton criticized Horner after his endorsement. "After over 30 years as a political insider, Tom Horner is now running on the same failed Independence Party formula of higher taxes and more spending," Sutton said in a statement. Democratic Party spokesman Donald McFarland has said Horner will attract only conservative voters.