In an e-mail, a tweet and the launch of a website, businessman Scott Honour on Wednesday became the first high-profile Republican to challenge DFL Gov. Mark Dayton's bid for re-election.
"I fear that our state is headed in the wrong direction and under the wrong leadership. I know that the same people with the same political résumés are not going to solve our problems," said Honour, who lives in Wayzata. "I know what it's like to start with nothing and build a successful business and a strong family. I want to help others do the same."
Honour's announcement kicks off the 2014 governor's race in earnest, raising the pressure on others Republicans to make their political intentions clear. It also turns up the heat on Dayton to assemble his political team, at the same time he grapples with bringing the legislative session to a tidy conclusion.
Dayton spokeswoman Katharine Tinucci said the governor welcomes Honour to the race.
"We certainly expect that there will be many others," Tinucci said, adding that Dayton is focused on his job, not the 2014 campaign. She said Dayton will not engage any of the Republican hopefuls individually before their party settles on a pick.
Other DFLers were happy to engage. The big-spending Alliance for a Better Minnesota launched a website trashing Honour and other potential Republican candidates. DFL Party chair Ken Martin, too, was ready with an attack.
"Scott Honour is Minnesota's Mitt Romney," Martin said. "After spending decades in corporate boardrooms getting rich at the expense of everyday people, he's now trying to parachute in from California to convince Minnesotans that our state should be run like a private equity firm."
Honour was born in Fridley and stepped down as senior managing director of Gores Group, a Los Angeles-based venture capital firm, last year saying he wanted to focus on public service in Minnesota.
