Minnesota elections: Big changes can come from small places
Long-held GOP seat in Minnesota Legislature could be taken by Democratic newcomer
by Leigh Pomeroy
At one time Rep. Steve Sviggum was riding high, ruling the roost in the Minnesota legislature. He was the almighty Speaker of the House when the Republicans were in control from 1999 to 2007. And he ruled with an iron fist — and sometimes a hot-headed temper — more often than not often prevailing over Gov. Jesse Ventura and the Senate during Ventura's term of office, and acting as Gov. Tim Pawlenty's "go to" guy on Republican issues from 2003 to 2007.
But the election of 2006 brought a big change, with Democrats (called DFLers in the North Star state) taking both houses of the legislature for the first time in eight years.
Though retaining his seat, Sviggum lost his powerful position as Speaker, and at least some in his party began to doubt his effectiveness as a leader. He had campaigned actively for GOP candidates in the fall of 2006, and nearly all had gone down in flames. Perhaps to add insult to injury, the House Republicans didn't even retain him as their minority leader.
Thus, it's not surprising that Sviggum, having lost his clout and perhaps honor, accepted the position of Commissioner of Labor and Industry starting in July, thus vacating his House seat in rural southeastern Minnesota, which he has held for 28 years.
With this record, observers might be tempted to automatically hand the seat over to Steve Drazkowski, the recently endorsed Republican candidate for the special election to be held August 7. But there are a number of reasons why this assumption might not hold.
First, except for his occasional temper tantrums, Sviggum is very personable and well liked by his constituents and even those who more often than not disagree with him on political issues. Virtually everyone in his former district either knows him or is related to him, or so it seems.
Drazkowski, on the other hand, is not that well known. In 2006, he ran and lost against Democrat Steve Murphy for the Minnesota Senate seat that includes Sviggum's District 28b and District 28a, which is currently held by Democrat Sandy Wollschlager. Drazkowski's website point outs, however, that he "outpolled 14-year DFL incumbent Steve Murphy in House District 28B." Yet the count was only 143 votes (7,997 to 7,854), according to Minnesota Monitor, or less than one percent of the vote.
Drazkowski carries at least two other bits of baggage with him into the race. The first is an arrest, but no conviction, on domestic assault charges. Politics in Minnesota writes:
DFL candidate Linda Pfeilsticker, on the other hand, is a relative unknown, having upset 2006 Sviggum opponent Jeff Flaten at the party endorsing convention July 10. Yet according to A Bluestem Prairie, she is an enormously popular teacher, and enormously popular teachers have done very well in southern Minnesota if Tim Walz's surprise upset in the 2006 congressional race is any indication. Other teacher-legislators in southern Minnesota include Gene Pelowski (Winona), Andy Welti (Plainview), Robin Brown (Albert Lea), Jeanne Poppe (Austin), Kathy Sheran (Mankato) and Terry Morrow (St. Peter).
Another trend that should favor Pfeilsticker is that the surrounding legislative districts have recently been slipping from GOP to DFL control. These include:
by Leigh Pomeroy
At one time Rep. Steve Sviggum was riding high, ruling the roost in the Minnesota legislature. He was the almighty Speaker of the House when the Republicans were in control from 1999 to 2007. And he ruled with an iron fist — and sometimes a hot-headed temper — more often than not often prevailing over Gov. Jesse Ventura and the Senate during Ventura's term of office, and acting as Gov. Tim Pawlenty's "go to" guy on Republican issues from 2003 to 2007.
But the election of 2006 brought a big change, with Democrats (called DFLers in the North Star state) taking both houses of the legislature for the first time in eight years.
Though retaining his seat, Sviggum lost his powerful position as Speaker, and at least some in his party began to doubt his effectiveness as a leader. He had campaigned actively for GOP candidates in the fall of 2006, and nearly all had gone down in flames. Perhaps to add insult to injury, the House Republicans didn't even retain him as their minority leader.
Thus, it's not surprising that Sviggum, having lost his clout and perhaps honor, accepted the position of Commissioner of Labor and Industry starting in July, thus vacating his House seat in rural southeastern Minnesota, which he has held for 28 years.
With this record, observers might be tempted to automatically hand the seat over to Steve Drazkowski, the recently endorsed Republican candidate for the special election to be held August 7. But there are a number of reasons why this assumption might not hold.
First, except for his occasional temper tantrums, Sviggum is very personable and well liked by his constituents and even those who more often than not disagree with him on political issues. Virtually everyone in his former district either knows him or is related to him, or so it seems.
Drazkowski, on the other hand, is not that well known. In 2006, he ran and lost against Democrat Steve Murphy for the Minnesota Senate seat that includes Sviggum's District 28b and District 28a, which is currently held by Democrat Sandy Wollschlager. Drazkowski's website point outs, however, that he "outpolled 14-year DFL incumbent Steve Murphy in House District 28B." Yet the count was only 143 votes (7,997 to 7,854), according to Minnesota Monitor, or less than one percent of the vote.
Drazkowski carries at least two other bits of baggage with him into the race. The first is an arrest, but no conviction, on domestic assault charges. Politics in Minnesota writes:
Drazkowski's easy endorsement is somewhat of a surprise. Several years ago, "The X," as some GOPers call him, was charged with fifth degree domestic assault for allegedly hitting his teenaged daughter. He was acquitted, and the records are sealed. His daughter has been with him on the campaign trail and his nomination was seconded by her. Local gossip has also focused on Drazkowski's protracted divorce, which lasted from 1993-2007. [No typos here. And, a round of applause to anyone who survives a 14-year divorce proceeding.]The second is his election campaign complaint against two fellow Republicans for smearing him at an endorsing convention in 2006 over this issue. The complaint was dismissed, but state GOP chair Ron Carey called on Drazkowski to end his campaign, according to the Winona Daily News.
DFL candidate Linda Pfeilsticker, on the other hand, is a relative unknown, having upset 2006 Sviggum opponent Jeff Flaten at the party endorsing convention July 10. Yet according to A Bluestem Prairie, she is an enormously popular teacher, and enormously popular teachers have done very well in southern Minnesota if Tim Walz's surprise upset in the 2006 congressional race is any indication. Other teacher-legislators in southern Minnesota include Gene Pelowski (Winona), Andy Welti (Plainview), Robin Brown (Albert Lea), Jeanne Poppe (Austin), Kathy Sheran (Mankato) and Terry Morrow (St. Peter).
Another trend that should favor Pfeilsticker is that the surrounding legislative districts have recently been slipping from GOP to DFL control. These include:
- District 26b - Patti Fritz upset Lynda Boudreau in 2004 and retained the seat in 2006.
- District 27b - Jeanne Poppe took the seat from Jeff Anderson in 2004 and retained it in 2006.
- District 28a - Sandy Wollschlager won the seat in 2006, replacing Republican Jerry Dempsey, who retired.
- District 29b - Kim Norton won in 2006, replacing Fran Bradley, who did not run.
- District 30a - Tina Liebling defeated Carla Nelson in 2004 and held her seat in 2006.
- District 30b - Andy Welti upset Bill Kuisle in 2004 and was reelected in 2006.
- District 31b - Ken Tschumper took the seat from 16-year veteran Greg Davids in 2006.
Labels: DFL, GOP, Minnesota, Pfeilsticker, Sviggum
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2 Comments:
This election could also be harbinger for Democrats should the GOP retain this seat.
The 2007 Legislative Session was a 180 degree turn from what the Democrats campaigned on in 2006. The Democrats campaigned on restraint. But, the reality of the session was that Democrats passed legislation that would have made for the most aggressive government involvement in people's lives in the history of Minnesota. If the Democrats campaign on restraint, but legislate with such a high degree of government aggression in to people's lives, they may win the battle, but the war in 2008 could turn the tide.
Have the Democrats learned from the Republicans about what it takes to lose elections? If they ignore the will of the people by campaigning one way and legislating another way, they will fall victim to the same thing that befell the GOP in 2006.
So, will the special election portend the future? Or be a harbinger of things to come? I guess we'll know a little more on August 8!
I played football against his son, who played for Kenyon. A good competitor, great athlete, I hope he is doing well.
This ia a great opportunity for the Democrats, but that district is highly conservative. This will be a race of voter turnout. Given how teh Republcians in General are polling we have to ask: Will Republucan Apathy be enough to give this seat to the Democrats.
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