Rochester area a magnet for political activity this weekend as it hosts 4 political conventions

Matthew Stolle, Post-Bulletin, Rochester, Minn.
·4 min read

Mar. 23—ROCHESTER — If politics were a buffet, it will be all-you-can-eat this weekend.

DFL Gov. Tim Walz will be in town, as will Secretary of State Steve Simon and perhaps other constitutional officers. More DFL and GOP 1st congressional candidates than you can shake a stick at, a free-for-all occasioned by the death of Rep. Jim Hagedorn, will be in the area promoting their campaigns.

The area will also be swarming with GOP gubernatorial candidates (there are nine in the race), all looking for endorsement support in the area in a quest to oust Walz. And Rochester area DFL candidates for state House and Senate will be looking to boost their campaigns by winning their party's endorsement.

All this activity will be occasioned by the fact that four party conventions, three DFL and one GOP, will be held in the area this weekend. The flurry of activity comes after new district maps were released this month, shaking up the political landscape and creating new political opportunities.

Here's a rundown of the conventions and their significance:

This one will be the most consequential and newsworthy. DFL endorsement contests within Olmsted County are rare. There have only been three in the last 20 years. What makes this even more unusual is that both state House Districts within this Senate District feature endorsement contests.

Kim Hicks, a disabilities advocate, and Randy Schubring, a Mayo Clinic government and community engagement director, are seeking their party's endorsement for seat 25A in the Minnesota House of Representatives. And in what one DFL veteran said may be a first for a DFL unit in Olmsted County, there is a three-way race for the endorsement for seat 25B.

That race includes Andy Smith, owner and founder of Gray Duck Theater & Coffee House, Abdulkadir Abdalla, principal of the Rochester Math and Science Academy, and Lida Casper, a Rochester Public Schools community schools facilitator.

"In the last 25 years, there have only been three endorsement contests for DFL candidates in Olmsted County" in 2002, 2016 and 2018, said Mark Liebow, a DFL acting chair.

Liz Boldon, a first-term DFL state representative, is running unopposed for the endorsement in Senate District 25. GOP Sen. Dave Senjem represents the district.

The Senate District 25 Convention will be held Saturday in the Mayo High School auditorium. Registration begins at 9:30 a.m. and convention convenes at 11 a.m.

Bill Kuisle, a GOP leader, said the convention will be focused mostly on hearing from GOP candidates for Congress in the 1st District and those running for governor, attorney general and secretary of state.

Since Olmsted is one of the last counties to hold its convention, "they'll be out in full force," Kuisle said about all the GOP candidates. Delegates to the GOP 1st District Congressional and State conventions will be selected, but no endorsement business will be conducted.

The GOP convention starts at 9:30 a.m. Saturday at Byron Middle School.

This convention will be held in Mayo High School's cafeteria, down the hall from the Senate District 25 convention.

This gathering, too, will not be endorsing candidates. The most important activity taking place there will be electing delegates to the DFL 1st District and State conventions. And of course, listening to speeches.

Delegates to this convention will meet at 1 p.m. Sunday at Kasson-Mantorville High School. Their job will be to endorse DFL candidates for the state Senate and House. It shouldn't be too eventful. There is only one or no candidates running in each of the three races.

Aleta Borrud, a retired doctor, is seeking the DFL endorsement for state Senate seat 24. This is her second attempt to unseat GOP Sen. Clara Nelson, who has served in the body for a dozen years. No DFL candidate has so far announced for House seat 24A, which is currently held by state Rep. Duane Quam. Rep. Tina Liebling, a nine-term state representative, is running unopposed for the DFL endorsement for House District 24B.

Some may wonder why there are separate conventions involving the Olmsted 20/24 DFL unit and Senate District 24. Why the seeming redundancy?

The main reason is that Senate District 24 includes part of Olmsted County and all of Dodge County, while Olmsted 20/24 DFL only covers the portions of the Senate districts that are in Olmsted County. A Senate district in a single county can both endorse candidates and perform its organizing business, including selecting delegates and passing resolutions, in a single convention.

But when a district is made up of different counties, it can't do both. The DFL rules don't allow them. It requires a separate convention made up of delegates from that Senate district. The Senate District 24 DFL gathering will draw delegates to the Olmsted 20/24 DFL Convention who live in Senate District 24, as well as delegates from last week's Dodge County DFL gathering.