Repya is in, Horner is close
The field of gubernatorial candidates for the Independence Party of Minnesota is now four, with a fifth expected later this week.
Former Republican activist Joe Repya filed his campaign paperwork today. Repya is a retired Army Lieutenant Colonel from Eagan who ran unsuccessfully for state GOP party chairman in 2007. If elected governor, he says he'll only serve one four-year term. Repya describes himself as an honest consensus-builder. He says he's grown frustrated by the inability of Republicans and Democrats to solve the state's financial problems.
"It's a situation where we need a leader that the people will trust and will bring people together for the good of Minnesota, not the for the good of some political ideology," Repya said. "And that's the problem we have today in Minnesota."
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Another former Republican is moving closer to running for governor as an IP candidate. Tom Horner, co-founder of the Twin Cities public relations firm Himle Horner, said he'll file paperwork for an exploratory committee later this week. Horner, a longtime political analyst for Minnesota Public Radio News, once served as chief of staff to former Sen. Dave Durenberger, R-Minn. He said he wants to give voters a good alternative.
"I'll be able to show a 30-year record of involvement in Minnesota public policy and politics, a 30-year record of really building coalitions and bringing people together around common sense solutions, and around solutions that really do reflect the interest and wishes of most Minnesotans," Horner said.
Other IP candidates for governor include Rob Hahn, John T. Uldrich and Rahn Workcuff.