Cross-posted at
MN Campaign Report
MyDD has a post up regarding a Green candidate in PA that's being funded by contributors to Rick Santorum (R-wingnut)'s campaign. Luckily for those of us who like local connections, there is one - we have a highly competitive State Senate race in the West Metro that sounds like a similar situation. Democrat Andrew Borene and Green Julie Risser are running against Republican incumbent Geoff Michel in SD41.
In case you missed my interviews of both Borene and his counterparts running in 41A and 41B, Paul Rosenthal and Jeff Rich, here's the situation - Edina and West Bloomington, long considered a safe Republican area, voted for John Kerry in 2004 by a slim margin. For citizens and homeowners and voters in 41, the common good was more important than their checkbooks, and the local DFL organization is now revitalized with the potential to turn the area even bluer than it's already going. In a low-turnout, non-presidential year, Borene (and Rosenthal and Rich for that matter) will need every single DFL vote and a very considerable number of independent votes to win.
And then Risser enters the picture. Her issues page follows the DFL platform closely in tone and intent, issue by issue. It doesn't appear she's filed a finance report with the CFB, although I've sent a message to her campaign asking about this. I hope this won't be taken as a critique of her platform or of her personally, because it's not.
My point is this - your platform is essentially that of a DFLer, and you're running in what promises to be an extremely competitive district - how does siphoning votes from a quality candidate, who shares most (if not all) of your platform planks, improve the potential for a more progressive government in our state? Nothing worth doing ever came quickly. If you want change in a political party, invest the time and build from within. As currently constructed, the Green Party will do nothing but siphon votes from suburban DFL candidates, working against their stated goals.
It's gut-check time, folks. I have full faith and confidence in Borene's ability to win in Edina. That doesn't make it okay that a third-party candidate is in a position to cause him plenty of headaches between now and November. There's a time and a place for third-party candidacies - in Minneapolis, for example, where a DFL/Green matchup would be between a progressive candidate and a more-progressive candidate. SD41 does not meet that condition.