State GOP Chairman Pat Shortridge is on his way out in April, which has some Republicans worried that the next leader of the party in Minnesota could hail from a growing faction of Ron Paul-ite libertarians within the party. (Staff photo: Peter Bartz-Gallagher)
Fundamental questions about future role, leadership of the party lie ahead
The wounds had started to heal by the time Minnesota Republicans faced each other at an annual activist gathering in Blaine over the weekend. Many Republicans had already come to terms with the drubbing that took place on Nov. 6, when both Republican legislative majorities and two GOP-led constitutional amendments were rejected by voters. For many, the defeat was so dramatic that it left little room for interpretation or analysis.
“Clearly the Republican Party has a message problem,” Republican delegate and former State Auditor Pat Anderson said. “I think this was a reality shock for some people, and for others it wasn’t a surprise. What we all know for sure is that the party has a lot of work to do in rebuilding what was lost.”
The meeting also did little to make clear the path ahead for the Minnesota GOP. The party is still facing about $1.5 million in debt, a number that has slowly ticked down from about $1.9 million since the start of the year. Current party leadership has earned high praise for its work to right the ship since former chairman Tony Sutton suddenly resigned this time last year, leaving the party on the hook with more than $2 million in debts. But new Chairman Pat Shortridge is on his way out in April, vowing from the start only to serve out the remainder of Sutton’s term. His exit has some delegates worried that the next leader of the Minnesota GOP could hail from a growing faction of libertarians within the party, a group not known for its ties to the wealthy and moderate donor group of Republicans.
The only tangible power the party has heading into a competitive race for U.S. Senate and governor in 2014 is the endorsement process, one that has always carried more weight in the Republican Party than with Minnesota Democrats. But after an embarrassing U.S. Senate loss this year by endorsed libertarian candidate Kurt Bills, several influential members of the party are calling for Republicans to do away with the endorsement process altogether. On top of that, several prominent Republicans are already forming political funds designed to support candidates all the way through a Republican primary election.
“With the party’s debt, they are in a weak position,” said activist Marianne Stebbins. “We are going to see movements running parallel to the party.”
To endorse or not to endorse
Bills’ loss to popular DFL incumbent Sen. Amy Klobuchar was expected, but most Republicans were surprised at just how poorly he performed. Bills raised hardly any money in his effort and was declared the loser within 10 minutes of the polls closing on election night.
The performance was enough for Ben Golnik, an activist and operative who previously served as executive director of the party, to publicly call for the Republican Party to do away with the endorsement for good. In a Star Tribune op-ed, Golnik called the delegate selection and endorsement process “costly” and “time-consuming.”
“With the complicated process, a well-organized minority can defeat a poorly organized majority,” Golnik wrote. “As Republicans look to run serious challengers to Dayton and U.S. Sen. Al Franken in 2014, strong candidates must be recruited — from both inside the existing structure and from outside. Prospective candidates should skip the endorsement process and run in a primary, rather than focusing solely on the endorsement process.”
Golnik isn’t the only Republican thinking along these lines. Stebbins, who is considered the leader of the libertarian wing of the party, says political funds are already in the works to support candidates directly through the primary election, with no consideration of the endorsement process at all.
“We are hearing rumors of Norm Coleman going straight to a primary for governor,” Stebbins said. “While I think that the party needs to try and uphold its endorsement the best it can, I think you are going to see candidates going straight to the primary.”
Stebbins says Ron Paul supporters plan to create their own primary political fund, or PAC, and she expects to see primary PACs form around the “establishment side” of the party.
That will put Republicans in the position to have a strong primary election for the first time in years. “With Sutton came this idea that the endorsement means everything,” Anderson said. “I think you will see the Republican Party moving toward the Democratic model of strong primaries. The party itself is not going to be the only entity out there, and right now it’s a weak entity.”
