U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar said Thursday she is running for governor of Minnesota, promising to take on Donald Trump while unifying a state that has endured a series of challenges even before the federal government’s immigration crackdown.
Klobuchar’s decision gives Democrats a high-profile candidate and proven statewide winner as their party tries to hold onto the office occupied by Gov. Tim Walz.
Klobuchar cited Trump’s immigration crackdown in Minnesota, federal officers killing two Minnesotans who protested, the assassination of a state legislative leader and a school shooting that killed multiple children — all within the last year. She avoided direct mention of ongoing fraud investigations into the child care programs that Trump has made a political cudgel.
Believe me, I know MN is activated now. I’m not that far away from the shitstorm in Minneapolis.
Also, stating data is not “repeating media talking points”. I’d love for a progressive to be able to win a state-wide race. The current problem is that none have shown much (or any) interest in throwing their hat into the Governor’s race currently.
Additionally, there’s no real “suppressed voting block” in MN; we have some of the highest voter turnout/engagement in the nation - a fact we’re very proud of and something we work at to keep it as high as it is.
The current Governor’s race has less than 10 months to go, so we’ll need someone already engaged in politics - even at the local level would hopefully be good enough, but it would be a tough slog. The main sticking issue for the general will be name recognition; we have good voter engagement (as mentioned previously).
It definitely helps that the likely Republican opposition will be lead by the batshit crazy Mike Lindell, so that would lower the potential issues a lesser-known candidate would face - everyone’s already made up their mind on him.
Sorry for the frustration in my voice but I’m kinda getting sick and tired of the ratchet effect happening in America. I hope something coalesces around a further left candidate than Klobachar, I know Ilhan Omar has some current talk around her, if she’d even run is another question. I know that for the US Minnesota does turn out the vote more than elsewhere nationally but there’s still a quarter of the population on average who don’t vote.
All that being said, good luck to you and yours. A lot of what I’m hearing, and the people I’m organizing with are reinforcing the idea that we need more leftists in local politics. It’s only gonna change from the ground up.
Nah man, I hear ya. Ratchet effect and the Overton Window are a real thing. And it’s been extremely damaging to the working class here in the States.
And yeah, we really need to get our farm league (so to speak) ramped up, and quick. The Rs are shit, but they understood that to take control of the system, you need people at all levels, working towards your goals. Us on the left seem to forget that it, it seems. We focus so much on the higher-profile races and don’t put forward enough city council, school board, state House races, etc., which is where a lot of the stuff that affects people in their every day lives is decided - tax rates/breaks, incentives, school funding, and the like.
I don’t think it’s a lack of interest or understanding that change comes from the bottom. I think it’s more insidious than that. A lot of people on the left cannot afford to run for office in their city, nor get the time off of work to campaign.
There is also a lack of third spaces where people can talk to each other face to face. So few people can disagree or come to consensus now without it feeling like a personal attack. There’s a really good book I read “High Conflict: Why We Get Trapped and How We Get Out” by Amanda Ripley
It’s not about being complicit, nor is it about giving Nazis space in the general culture. However it is about talking to people you don’t agree with and listening to what they have to say and finding common ground on more school funding, more social services. Numbers are our strength and solidarity is our greatest weapon.