Seifert: stepping down, mulling run
Rep. will resign post as GOP caucus leader as he considers run for governorBy Rae Kruger
He will be thinking it over.
Rep. Marty Seifert, R-Marshall, said Wednesday he will resign as House Minority Leader on June 24 to allow him to consider running for governor.
"If a person is even considering a run, just kicking the tires - it's not fair...," Seifert said of holding a leadership office and determining whether to run for the governor's seat.
Seifert will retain his District 21A House seat.
Gov. Tim Pawlenty announced Tuesday he will not seek a third term but did not specify what his future plans were.
The Republican caucus meets June 24 and will be able to elect a new minority leader then, Seifert said.
Seifert didn't give a definite timetable as to when he'd decide whether or not to run, but said the Sept. 19 Republican State Convention would be a good indicator.
"We will very likely be taking a straw poll for governor there," Seifert said. "In that straw poll, if you don't come out in the top three, it will be tough to claw your way back."
Seifert, along with other Republicans, has been mentioned in the media as one of several top tier candidates for governor.
"The fact that he is taking this step so quickly after the governor's announcement, means he has serious interest in the governor's race," said David Sturrock, a Southwest Minnesota State University political science professor and member of the Marshall Area Chamber of Commerce's Government Affairs Committee
"Clearly, he's going to take a very close look at this," Sturrock said.
Various Lyon County Republicans have been talking of the possibility of Seifert running for governor since last summer when Pawlenty was touted as a vice presidential candidate for Republican presidential candidate John McCain.
"I'm incredibly happy," Lyon County Republican Party co-chairwoman Judy Henle said. "I just think (Seifert) is one of the few politicians I've ever met who is truly doing it for the right reasons - to represent the people and what the people want. I think he's served southwest Minnesota very well and I feel he can serve the state of Minnesota well as governor."
Henle said she was not surprised Seifert resigned as minority leader in order to focus on determining support for the governor's race.
"I think he feels it wouldn't be fair (to do both)," Henle said. "The one thing I like most about him, he wants to give 100 percent to a job, and if he can't he won't do it."
"Minnesotans have high expectations of public officials," Sturrock said. The culture of the state would expect Seifert to give up the leadership position while he considers running for a higher office, Sturrock said.
"In some states, New York and Ohio come to mind, it would be more tolerated for public officials to wear two hats."
The role of minority leader requires him to meet with donors, legislators, potential legislators and officials in the party and others throughout the state, Seifert said. He also speaks at numerous Republican events as well as civil and other gatherings.
That's full-time work, Seifert said.
And it's full-time work that could help Seifert in a bid for the governor's race, Sturrock said.
"It's critical," Sturrock said. Seifert is considered to be in the first tier of possible candidates for governor largely because of his exposure and experience in the leadership role, Sturrock said.
"That sets him apart from other legislators," Sturrock said.
Seifert has received overwhelming support in each of his seven elections, winning with more than 60 percent or nearly 70 percent of the vote in each election.
While he is popular in District 21A, the District has also voted for Democrats in the past, Seifert said. Democrats such as former U.S. President Bill Clinton and former U.S. Rep. David Minge have won the majority of votes when he has also been elected, Seifert said.
"It's not like I don't have crossover appeal," Seifert said.
Seifert plans to talk and meet with many to gauge his political support and Cal Ludeman of Tracy, the commissioner of the state's human services agency and Republican candidate for governor in 1986, is one person on his list.
Ludeman lost to incumbent Democrat Rudy Perpich.
