Bakk makes it official
DFL state Sen. Tom Bakk of Cook is now an official candidate for Governor. Bakk told he Mesabi Daily News that he's going to focus his campaign on job creation.
Bakk, who will be 55 on Monday, calls himself a "good old-fashioned jobs-Democrat." He said his campaign for the DFL nomination for governor in the 2010 election will be based on job growth in the state -- which would also be the foundation of a Bakk governorship. And Bakk knows the history of job numbers in the state -- especially recent years under Republican Gov. Tim Pawlenty, which he says have been a "terrible failure" for working men and women in the state.
He also added that he'll abide by the party endorsement (while taking a shot at some of his DFL rivals):
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To get the endorsement, Bakk said he's "got to count to 400." That's the number of delegates out of 1,200 he believes will be needed on the first ballot to move on to claim the endorsement in what will be a large field of candidates. It eventually will take 60 percent, or 720 delegates, to win the endorsement.
"If I get those 400, other candidates will start dropping out and I'm hoping delegates will see that the DFL hasn't had much luck running Twin Cities liberals. Perhaps they'll see a rural candidate with strong union ties who can reach out to business might have a much better chance of winning," Bakk speculated.
It's no surprise that Bakk is in the race. He had an exploratory committee filed for some time and has said he would officially announce this summer.
Bakk is one of many DFLers and Republicans who are either running or expressed interest in running. Get the checklist of who's in and out here.