Minnesota Republicans united against Dayton, but primary looms

As Minnesota Republicans emerged from their weekend convention on Monday, they stressed party unity.

But a looming GOP primary in the race for governor could test their solidarity, even as the party focuses its criticism on Gov. Mark Dayton.

• More: GOP opts for unity over purity
• Related: GOP's Ortman bows out of Senate race
• Profiles of the candidates

Hennepin County Commissioner Jeff Johnson, the party's newly endorsed candidate for governor, will face three other Republicans in the Aug. 12 primary. Businessman Scott Honour, former House Speaker Kurt Zellers and former state Rep. Marty Seifert will ask voters to pick the party's nominee.

Republicans haven't seen a competitive state primary in two decades. The impending one gives the candidates only about 10 weeks to make their case to voters.

Johnson said he and other Republicans believe the endorsement matters. But he said he doesn't think a contested primary necessarily shows division within the party. Johnson also said he doesn't plan to criticize the other GOP candidates.

"I have no intent of being negative about the other three in the race," Johnson said. "I'm running against Mark Dayton, and my job is to convince Republicans in Minnesota that I'm the one who can beat Mark Dayton. I'm not going to do that by tearing them down."

Before filing his candidate paperwork, Seifert told reporters that he thinks the other candidates are good people and valued friends. Seifert said he doesn't expect any "sharp elbows" in the campaign, but he has already pointed out some differences. The Republican from Marshall described himself as the "anti-establishment" candidate, and the only one from rural Minnesota.

"I am a lifelong born and raised and educated in Minnesota, and have never spent a year of my life anywhere else," Seifert said. "That distinguishes me from the other three right there."

Honour, who filed shortly after Seifert, emphasized his private sector experience. The Orono resident said he too sees key differences among the GOP candidates.

"I think they're all good guys. But they're political insiders, and they've been part of the leadership that continues to spend more money," Honour said. "We're the campaign and the team that is going to take a fresh approach and get things done in the state, things that need to be done that are going to improve the lives of all Minnesotans."

Zellers, who lives in Maple Grove, was House Speaker in 2011 during a state government shutdown. Still, he said he's the only Republican in the race with the experience of going toe to toe with Dayton in budget negotiations.

"I'm the only candidate that has faced down Governor Dayton and for all intents and purposes won when it came to raising taxes and balancing a budget," Zellers said. "That conversation has been decided."

Republican Party of Minnesota Chairman Keith Downey said even though a contested primary may heighten interest in the GOP, he's counting on the endorsed candidate Jeff Johnson to generate the excitement. Downey said he's hoping for a higher-than-normal primary turnout.

"Turnout has not been large. An accurate assumption would be that it will be the people who participate historically the most that are probably the closest to the parties and/or their candidates," he said. "We're going to do our best to try to drive up attendance and turnout."

Four years ago, Democrats had a competitive three-way primary contest for governor, and Mark Dayton defeated the endorsed candidate. But primary turnout was low that year with just under 16 percent of the state's eligible voters participating.