Bob Anderson, a name that this blog has never uttered once until today, made a serious impact on the
results in CD6 yesterday:
BOB ANDERSON 40642 10.04%
MICHELE BACHMANN 187805 46.41%
EL TINKLENBERG 175784 43.44%
Who are these people that voted Bob Anderson? The IP endorsed El Tinklenberg! MPR’s Bob Collins:
Who is Bob Anderson? Michele Bachmann’s best friend.
Bob [Collins]’s theory of politics in Minnesota is if you put an Independence Party candidate not named Jesse Ventura on a ballot, Republicans win.
Independence Party fans hate me for saying that but for the most part, it’s true.
They can logically point to Al Franken’s Senate race tonight — so far — as proof the theory doesn’t stand up.
And I’ll counter with Bob Anderson, a veritable unknown who is clearly pulling votes from Elwyn Tinklenberg tonight, paving the way — again, so far — for Michele Bachmann.
MinnPost’s Doug Grow (emphasis mine):
Anderson – who had no money and only one issue (health insurance coverage for mental health problems) – managed to get 10 percent of the vote running as the Independence Party candidate.
Funny thing, though. Anderson really wasn’t the IP’s candidate. Tinklenberg was. In fact, the IP hierarchy – such as it is – is offended by Anderson, who is seen as a gadfly.
But when the IPs endorsed Tinklenberg, Anderson grabbed a golden opportunity. He ran, unopposed, in the primary as the IP representative. He won the IP spot on Tuesday’s ballot and, coupled with that comfortable Minnesota name, managed to win thousands of independent votes.
Here’s the kicker:
It could also be that nobody offered to give him anything. No matter, Anderson said he spent less than $200 on his campaign, which begs the question: If he’d spent $300, could he have won 15 percent of the 6th District vote?
More at MinnPost, MPR’s News Cut.
Sidenote: if it was an Instant Runoff Voting election, I strongly believe Tinklenberg would have won.
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