Discover Politics

Former U.S. Senator Mark Dayton has been on the campaign trail and raising money since January of 2009 trying to convince Minnesotans that he has what it takes to occupy the Governor’s office and fix the mess left behind by Governor Pawlenty. In early November, Dayton finds himself fundraising his way down the west coast and during a few moments of downtime in Los Angeles he was so kind as to check in with DiscoverPolitics.org.

Before I can even get to my first question, asking about his recent AFSCME endorsement, I ask him how things are going and he launches right into his excitement over the accomplishment. “It was a fair, head to head contest for that endorsement and I’m proud to have the support of their 43,000 members.” I ask him about the speculation that such a high profile endorsement this early in the race could be tied to his declaration to keep his campaign going through to the general election regardless of whether or not he gets the party’s endorsement. “I can tell you from speaking to [AFSCME] members that the issue on their minds when choosing a candidate wasn’t the primaries, it was electability. I’m the only candidate who has won a statewide election.” Dayton also points out several times during our interview that you probably can only get the party endorsement if you publically agree to abide by it, and since he has vowed to continue on to the general election regardless of endorsement, he may be unlikely to get it. After all, a general election is democracy in its purest form and Dayton plans on “letting all the voters decide”.

Since he is currently fundraising out of state, I ask him to share some details on how his campaign will be financed. He declines to answer, stating that in a race like this, how you fund your campaign could end up being key. “You wouldn’t get to see Brad Childress’ play book earlier in the week either,“ he shoots back as the topic snaps shut.

Every Democrat running in the race for the Governor’s chair is harshly criticizing Governor Pawlenty. I ask about Pawlenty’s use of unallotments and line item vetoes at the end of the last session to address the budget deficit. I’m trying to find a sense of understanding or empathy, perhaps an acknowledgement that in a tough spot, there are gray areas surrounding any option. No empathy here. “It was illegal and violated the constitution. It even violated the spirit of the constitution and our traditional notions of the roles of the branches of government. There’s a law suit happening now and I hope a court finds the violation.”

How would Dayton fix the budget? “We don’t have a budget problem in Minnesota, we have a revenue problem. I would raise taxes on the wealthiest Minnesotans. Governor Pawlenty’s own administration shows data that the wealthiest in Minnesota pay a lower percentage in taxes than everyone else.” He also suggests that Republicans will misrepresent that message into: I will raise taxes. “If the Republicans would run an add with me saying that I would raise taxes on only the wealthiest Minnesotans, I would help pay to run that ad!”

I ask about what his big weaknesses are in a campaign and what the Republicans will point out as his main flaw. “They’ll manufacture something.” He tells me that the state Republican party has a staffer or a volunteer at his campaign stops videotaping each event, which he thinks is good. “You would hope that at least the attacks will be true since they’re taping everything.”

I try to ask him about the public’s view of far left and far right candidates, which seems appropriate in a state that recently saw an Independent win the race for Governor by selling himself as the middle. Dayton refuses to talk in hypotheticals, but casually mentions that in recent elections that Independent candidates have tended to take more Democratic votes than Republican. When I ask him where he falls on the liberal to moderate scale and where he thinks the public sees him on that scale, he says that he doesn’t care about labels, he’s a Democrat. As far as the public’s perception, “I think I have a good sense of the pulse of what Minnesotan’s want because I’m out there talking to them, not because I fit a label.”

I’m hesitant to breach the subject of bad press from the end of his term in the Senate and how it still haunts him. But he is very conversationally approachable and forthright. He says he disregards the title of “Blunderer” from TIME magazine. He writes it off as a “non-substantive” article and offers that the statement and article say more about TIME than about his public service.  I also ask about his own grading of his Senate term as an F. Dayton points out that the comment was taken out of context because he stated that he would give the entire Senate an F, including himself. What does this say about his role in the governing body and the work he did during his one term? “I have very high expectations for myself and I hope Minnesotan’s see that as me refusing to duck responsibility.” Honest self criticism from a politician is a bit absurd. Just typing it now, Microsoft Word underlined the phrase and suggested I consider revising. I can certainly see how some Minnesotans would find this appealing,, refreshing and honest, but Republicans will throw this at him for at least another year.

Mark Dayton has the name recognition early in the game. He has the funds to push a campaign forward. He is connected to greater Minnesota in a way that the ever expanding pool of inner-city candidates is not. If history is any guide, the Democratic candidate will struggle connecting to greater Minnesota next fall. When I ask him what he wants Minnesotan’s to know about him he fires off a quick list: “I have 34 years of public service on my record. I have served in local, state and federal government. I was 1 of 23 senators who voted against the Iraq war.” And my personal favorite, which makes him the front runner for my vote, “I was the only Minnesotan on Richard Nixon’s enemies list.” Nice.