Tag Archive for 'Kelli'

I’m hearing from multiple sources that Minnesota House Speaker Margaret Anderson Kelliher is planning to announce the formation of a gubernatorial campaign committee sometime in August.  The Speaker has apparently been calling her members to ask for their support.  This news will not shock many who watch the Legislature - the Speaker has been a rumored gubernatorial candidate for three years now.  The bigger question has been whether MAK would remain Speaker while running for Governor.

Right now it appears the answer to that question is yes.  Despite speculation that Kelliher would follow the precedent set by Matt Entenza and Marty Seifert, I’m told that the Speaker plans to keep the corner office at the State Office Building for the foreseeable future.

Other sources, however, tell me that while Kelliher currently plans to remain Speaker, these plans are not set in stone.  There are some who worry that the House DFL Caucus will be handicapped as they approach to 2010 election without a Speaker to raise money and recruit candidates (I’m told that Tony Sertich has already agreed to run the Caucus campaign).  Others worry that Kelliher’s gubernatorial campaign will suffer because her duties as Speaker will eat up time.  On the other hand, Kelliher’s departure from House leadership would create two hotly contested leaderhip races.  Current Majority Leader Tony Sertich is certain to run for Speaker if Kelliher leaves (opening up his position), but no one I talked to thinks he’d clear the field.   I’ll have more on the succession possibilities in a post tomorrow, but these races could get ugly fast and rob the Caucus of the unity that will be critical as they try to keep their sizable majority.

One last bit of information is worth noting: Speaker Kelliher’s standing within the House DFL Caucus is still very strong.  While many are disappointed with the outcome of the 2009 session, most members still have a lot of confidence in Kelliher’s leadership.