Klobuchar might knot up endorsement easily, but has DFLers to still win over
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Delegates at the DFL convention are highly likely to endorse U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar for governor but she’ll still have some work to do to patch up her party base.
“Amy is kind of more of a centrist,” said Tim Knight, a delegate from Anoka. “She talks good talk, but she's not really delivered for any of the really big ticket items that would have really pushed us forward for all the time that she's been in office that I’m aware of.”
Klobuchar entered the race after Gov. Tim Walz halted his campaign for a third term.
Klobuchar, who has held her Senate seat for around two decades, has strong name recognition, a history of winning races by strong margins and is one of the key names in Democratic politics in the state.
Knight wants to see candidates pushing for Medicare for All and other big swing legislation.
He said he’s “OK” with Klobuchar as the endorsed candidate, but plans to vote for Kobey Lane on the first ballot.
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“I would love to see her have the opportunity, because I think her platform is better than Amy's,” he said. “But I doubt that she's going to be able to get there, but in the first round of voting, I'm certainly going to try.”
But some delegates say she’s the best candidate the party could have.
“If Amy Klobuchar isn't a slam dunk. We need to have our collective fricking heads examined,” said Tim McLean, a DFL delegate from Blaine. “She'll do an excellent job. I was
fantastically relieved when she ran.”
McLean said some might not see her as progressive enough, but that she’s a candidate that has shown she can win statewide.
“She does align with most of my positions, she really does, but in any — in the worst case, in the worst iteration of Amy Klobuchar — my God, she beats the alternatives for governor, she truly does,” McLean said. “I think she's a great candidate. Heck, I was looking forward to voting for her for president.”
