Reliable sources have informed MN Publius that Terri Bonoff has won the AFSCME endorsement in CD 3. More later…
UPDATE: This is obviously a big get for Bonoff. AFSCME was the union that had the biggest problems with Bonoff and thus the most likely to go with someone else. At this point, I would expect that most of the other unions will endose Bonoff. Coming on the heels of the EMILY’s List endorsement and the endorsements of all but three CD 3 legislators, its clear that Bonoff has cemented her position as the frontrunner for the DFL endorsement. Madia and Hovland could still win, but their odds just got substantially longer.
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Damn! She’s got no excuse not to have a leg up on the others now. I’m sure SEIU will support her too with their former Political Director running her campaign. Those are the only two labor organizations that put people on the ground and on the phones. Saves a lot staff money and volunteer recruiting time. EMILY’s List is good for experienced staff too.
Can she roll this into an endorsement and win? Its in her court.
Here is the funny thing about that endorsement - they didn’t even bother to screen the other two candidates - not a very fair process.
I find this most intriguing given their issues with her that they gave her such a pass and didn’t even take the time to talk to the other two - bad politics in my book.
Izzy -
Not true. AFSCME screened Madia and Hovland.
Wow! These union endorsements will really resonate with all those government union members living in Eden Prairie, Maple Grove, Wayzata, Shorewood, etc, etc ;)
Zack,
Thank you for the correction - is this confirmed?
It was my understanding that as late as a few days ago that Madia had been trying furiously to get a hold of AFSCME to screen and they were not returning his calls.
It is confirmed. I know for a fact that both Jim Hovland and Ashwin Madia screened for the endorsement.
Like I said Jeff, its not about them talking to their own (Plymouth, Brooklyn Park, Brooklyn Center and yes, Maple Grove have thousands of union employees living there), its about the resources they bring. More PAC money to talk with voters, and more experienced bodies to talk to voters.
DJZ,
And the GOP will get to say that Bonoff will be nothing more than a chimp for the greedy and out-of-touch government unions, whose members have benefits that are far more generous than all the folks living in the western suburbs who subsidize them.
Wasn’t it AFSCME that was all up in arms about Pawlenty and the state House GOP wanting to have criminals clean road ditches? The union said it was a threat to union jobs. That’ll play in Maple Grove and Eden Prairie
Keep in mind that the vast, overwhelming majority of 3rd District voters work in the private sector and are not union members. 3rd District voters are a lot more “Chamber of Commerce” (which will support Paulsen with $$ and independent expenditures) than “AFSCME.”
Ought to be fun …
Thank you Zack - I trust you know better than I
Jeff,
In her last election, Terri was endorsed by both labor and the chamber of commerce. Clearly she can appeal to non-unionized people who work in the private sector.
Zack,
Not when the opposition spends six or seven figures communicating to folks with private sector jobs (the majority of the district) what she had to promise the unions to get their endorsement. Ms. Bonoff has never run in a race like the one she is about to. It’s going to be fun :)
Democrats in the Western Suburbs are not going to be impressed by Terri Bonoffs credentials. Do some research and you will know what i mean.
Given that the three DFLers don’t seem to have any significant policy disagreements, I would hope that partisans of one candidate or another could show a little restraint when it comes to attacking the others with churlish and unsubstantiated…
Oh, who am I kidding?
Endorsements don’t really mean much. In the caucuses, it is the delegates who decide… Terri Bonoff is unimpressive and not ready at all for the federal level. She will get torn apart by Paulsen.
The delegates want someone who can beat Paulsen. They don’t care who it is. And frankly, neither do I. As long as the district turns blue.
Bonoff has no chance of winning the general, just watch her speak. I think that Madia or Hovland has a way better chance of turning the 3rd cd blue.
All the legislators that have endorsed act as delegates, and unions are likely to get their members to go caucus and stay loyal to their endorsement.
True - except for a couple of minor details.
We will be in session during their convention - so these super-delegates may not be able to help and unions out in the 3rd CD are not nearly as strong as they are in the 4th, 5th and 8th.
I am not saying it won’t help, because it certainly does - but is not as big a help as is being played up.
djz it is in her court, except that she is a complete moron
Jeff,
You know nothing of the labor movement I see. Well, they don’t just call random people and beg for support of government jobs. They target thousands who are members or have ID’d in some way or another as ‘labor-friendly’. and talk about their top issues:
1. Universal Health Care
2. Ending the War in Iraq
Strangely enough, those are two top issues in the Third. We’ve already heard about the War but Healthcare? That’s right.
On business owners the fastest out of control cost is not taxes, or frivolous lawsuits its health care. Chambers and Labor line up behind this because its a win-win for both. So all of your people who run businesses or help run businesses can ‘relate’ now. Your private sector people who have benefits can certainly see the negotiating advantage in pure a salary sense they’ll have when the company is not footing the bill for health care.
In saying that, I’m convinced one of the others are better at delivering this message with conviction. I find Bonoff to be scripted and easily shaken on hr campaign trail. Time will tell if she has overcome this.
Any of the three DFLers can beat the pro-life, pro-war, anti-Environment record of Erik Paulsen. Well, except in the minds of the conservatives. They hated Ramsted but knew they couldn’t beat him with a more conservative Republican. So now they think that a more conservative republican can win that district? Unless there has been some serious changeover- no dice.
Who is AFSME endorsing to replace Mark Ritchie?
i don’t mind republicans participating in this blog, but why are the things you say so completely dumb.
dumb thing 1: union endorsements will turn off a significant percentage of 3rd d voters.
reality: voters expect democrats to be endorsed by unions and republicans to be endorsed by the nra, and it pales in comparison to their positions on the war, economy etc.
dumb thing 2: bonoff is scripted and careful so she can’t win.
reality: winning candidates are scripted and careful, even when they make grammatical errors (though still speak about 10 times better than either President Bush). Hovland and Madia are “off the cuff” and relaxed because they have no expectations of winning and no one is really paying attention. (Huckabee, Paul and Kucinich are also in this category, by the way).
st paul, is practicing wishfull thinking when he says that Madia and Hovland are relaxed because they have no chance of winning. On the contrary it is becoming obvious that Bonoff is plainly uprepared.
Madia and Hovland are just plain smarter and better prepared than her.
The left leaning areas that put her over the top in the state senate race will not be enough of a margin in a more right leaning western suburbs.
Finally Bonoffs resume is very questionable if you do your homework on her “accomplishments.
SPS,
I say that she sounds scripted and it hurts because when you’re out on the campaign trail, people want someone who can connect to them. The best campaign teams and greatest plans have died in losing primaries because the candidate can’t connect.
You don’t have to be off the cuff, no one is when out here but, you should have some passion and connect to people through your presentation. Either you got it, or you don’t. She don’t. She can learn and work on it.
Say what you want about Bush (hell, I will. He’s the worst President in two lifetimes) but, he certainly knew how to connect with his crowd. Sometimes I think that mangling of the American English language is contrived.
Dismissive reactions like yours, can cause Terri to sip the kool-aid. She will then find her campaign planning on blocking an endorsement instead of winning one.
Oh yeah, a smooth delivery and grammatical errors were not what I was speaking on. Mark Dayton has held statewide office twice and when he speaks, or when he use to it was tough to follow. Didn’t stop him from winning.
I have to agree with St. Paul Sage. Voters fully expect a Democratic candidate to be endorsed by the Unions. It has much more of a play in the Primary than the General. I also think scripted and careful is not bad. It means “on message”, and if you listen to any of these candidates over and over, they are all carefully staying on message, just in their own different styles.
I would just change the expectation that Repubs are endorsed by the NRA to rather be the endoresement of organizations like the Minnesota Business Partnership and the Minnesota Chamber. The NRA endorsement might be necessary for a Republican candidate in Georgia or Texas, but not at all in the 3rd district of Minnesota.