Susan Gaertner, the longest-running DFL gubernatorial candidates and the one least likely to excite the DFL activists who will dominate the party’s endorsing convention, announced plans to carry her campaign into the party’s primary.
“To be honest, I think my original plan to rely solely on the endorsement and convention process was too politically limiting,” Gaertner said in a statement. “I firmly believe that an effort to expand our reach to a much larger universe of Minnesotans is the right direction, especially since some in the field have been in that mode all along.’’
Gaertner, the Ramsey County district attorney, has been trying to appeal to DFLers by saying that her moderate positions on many issues would make her a far more appealing candidate to key suburban voters than most of the others in the crowded field. She also has alienated some DFLers for her role in prosecuting protesters at the Republican National Convention in St. Paul.
Given that she’s picked up few endorsements and is not listed by pundits among the top tier of candidates, it appears that her message has not taken with those likely to be candidates to the endorsing convention.
Mark Dayton, Matt Entenza and Steve Kelley have indicated that they haven't ruled out running in the primary, regardless of the outcome of the endorsing convention.
“This doesn’t mean that I have given up on anyone in the DFL,’’ Gaertner said in her statement. “Like other candidates who have stated their intention to run in a primary, I respect the party process and will continue to work to gain the support of delegates to the DFL convention. I will be working hard, however, to gain the support of the many loyal DFL voters who don’t always get engaged in the caucus and convention process.”
Susan Gaertner says she'll take her gubernatorial campaign to DFL primary |