The St. Cloud Times has a pretty good-sized piece sizing up Tarryl Clark’s gubernatorial aspirations. Bottom line: She has them. This comes as no surprise to the Capitol crowd, who have had a front row seat to Clark’s ambitions for years now.
Clark would be a solid candidate (and geography would be to her benefit in a general election), but I think she’d have a tough time lining up against the other heavyweights in the probable-run category: Chris Coleman, Margaret Anderson Kelliher, R.T. Rybak and Tim Walz.
Speaking of R.T., rumor has it that he’ll be up for a cabinet post if Obama wins in the fall. So far, speculation centers around HUD, Energy and Transportation (of course, there is another Minnesotan who might be a candidate for Sec. of Transportation in an Obama administration). Here’s hoping R.T. gets a cabinet spot, and not just because we love the guy and think he’ll do great things for the country. It’d also be nice to thin out that gubernatorial crowd a little bit.
One last note on the St. Cloud Times story. The article notes that King Banian of St. Cloud Scholars is considering a challenge to Clark in 2010 if she seeks reelection. Banian hosts a radio show with Michael Brodkorb each week that I’ve been a guest on a few times. He’s a nice guy and I appreciate the invitations on the show. I have no doubt, however, that Tarryl would eat his lunch.
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with such a strong field for gov how did we end up with a such a weak senate candidate? We should be winning Norm’s seat. I keep hoping to see Cerisi or somebody else jump in with a primary challenge.
The other Minnesotan for Transportation Secretary? I am pretty sure that’s note true… I’ve talked to Terry Morrow and I am pretty sure he likes serving in the State House too much!
I think he was insinuating somebody already in Washington. Is there a particular district in Minnesota that has better roads than the rest of the upper midwest? I’m not talking Michelle Bachmann either- he’s got 4-lanes connecting his rural towns. Bachmann represents one of the fastest growing districts in the US and his constituents have bike trails that are nicer than her roads. But knowing her, that’s a virtue she’s proud of.
Clark is okay. The first post is correct about the interest in Governor compared to Senator. Maybe the personal financial investment required to get elected to the senate has something to do with that.
RT is not governor material. He’d get clobbered in out-state Minnesota. Why not any mention of Susan Gaertner? She’s tough and would appeal to independents and having a husband that knows the game won’t hurt either.
Either way, I think it might be time for a female governor. Anderson-Kelliher seems to be the new darling amongst the elite in the party, but Gaertner might appeal more to independents and outside of the metro.
Isn’t it odd that the headline for this article in the SC Times says: “State senator Clark quashes speculations of a bid for governor in 2010.” Yet the article itself fuels speculation and even describes Clark deliberating about the decision.
She uses the article as a chance to articulate her pet issues, the Minnesota Milestones and getting back on track in terms of setting state goals and rising about mediocrity, and goes on to say: “Once you create a campaign committee, that changes how people perceive you. Every action you take becomes suspect. I think I’ll wait until after at least the 2009 session to make any decisions.”
Boy she sure “quashed” those rumors!