Democrat Prepared to Fight for Right to Take on Bachmann
By Emily Cadei | July 18, 2009 1:43 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Adding more spice to what already promises to be a heated race, one of the Democratic candidates looking to take on Minnesota Rep. Michele Bachmann is now saying he won't bow out if he does not win the party's nomination.
From Eric Black at MinnPost.com: Minnesota 6th District candidate El Tinklenberg will not pledge to abide by the party's endorsement process and "will be prepared to run in a primary."
Minnesota's political parties have the somewhat unique tradition of formally nominating candidates for general election races, which oftentimes, but not always, clears the primary field for the chosen one. Tinklenberg, himself, has abided by the nomination process in the past, dropping out after he lost the party's endorsement in 2006 and obtaining the endorsement in 2008. He eventually lost to Bachmann by three percentage points.
This time around, however, Tinklenberg is less inclined to play by the rules, insisting to Black that he is the "only one who can defeat Michele Bachmann." That could result in a competitive primary between himself and either physician Maureen Reed, who has declared her candidacy, or state Sen. Tarryl Clark, who local observers, including Black, expect to jump in the race.
Given Clark's popularity and Reed's fundraising, there is a decent chance the party will select either of woman over Tinklenberg.
Any Democratic infighting would benefit Bachmann, who will be able to store up her money and energy for the general election.
http://blogs.cqpolitics.com/eyeon2010/2009/07/democrat-prepared-to-fight-for.html