We’ve the good fortune this cycle of some great polling of Minnesota by Marist, one of the best in the business, here’s the “internals” to pick through to your little heart’s content. The news is all good- democrats are leading the republicans in the generic congressional ballot, the special senate election, and the governors race by at least the margin of error for even the weaker DFL candidates like the Erins.
Now the Erins claim to be the most progressive Governor/ Lt. Governor team, but compare them on the issues and the Tim Walz/ Peggy Flanagan team is just as progressive with a practical side that means they’ll probably accomplish something. Further to the right we have the conservadem team of Swanson/ Nolan, with Nolan getting some bad press for alleged coddling of a sexual harasser just as the polling was winding down. The Erins are barely polling into double digits at 11%, Walz and Flanagan are at 24%, and Swanson and Nolan were at 28%, at least before the sexual harassment story really got out. Even with the 8% margin of error the Erins have only a two or three percent chance of winning.
Now you’d think there’d be some smart leaders in the Erin’s campaign or at least the DFL party leadership that would figure out they’re splitting the progressive vote and helping conservadem Swanson get the nomination. While their names would still be on the primary ballot, there’s nothing stopping the Erins from suspending their campaign and putting fellow progressives Walz and Flanagan in the lead with their 11%
But Noooo… DFL leadership is bound and determined to double down on the stupid and waste the half of the party they’ve got left on a futile effort to gain 17 points in two weeks with candidates with no statewide name recognition and next to no ad budget. Why… ‘Cause they’re the “endorsed candidates”, never mind that endorsement was made by barely half of 1400 odd superdelegates, hacks, and the occasional actual representative of their local democrats. And hacked the endorsement was, with a bloc of 180 special interest delegates handing the endorsement to the Erins and already claiming to have a future governor in their pocket. That may be business as usual in Illinois, but not in Minnesota.
So with almost no ad budget the Erins campaign and the DFL party have been tweeting up a storm of posed pictures of the Erins with local candidates, never mind that many of those candidates have all but publicly endorsed Walz and Flanagan. Never mind that they risk handing the nomination to a team that risks losing the general election in a media frenzy of sexual harassment accusations… The “NeverSwanson” hashtag is already circulating.
So it’s time for progressive DFLers to pull together, put aside the sacred endorsement, and elect the winning team that reflects Minnesota democrat’s progressive values- Tim Walz and Peggy Flanagan!
Sassy Democrat 