Bakk not interested in Lt. Gov. and won’t back another gov candidate.
Democrat Tom Bakk, who announced today that he's dropping his bid for governor, says he won't back another candidate for governor before April's DFL state party convention. He also says he's not interested in being on the ticket as a Lieutenant Governor candidate.
Bakk, who had a long shot of winning the DFL endorsement, said he realized that a crowded DFL field and a large number of undecided DFL delegates prompted him to focus on his work at the Legislature. He chairs the powerful Senate Taxes Committee and is working on a budget balancing bill, a jobs bill and another tax related bill at this time.
He also says no one should read anything into his meeting with Democrat Mark Dayton. He says he talked with several candidates this week including Tom Rukavina, John Marty and Paul Thissen.
Bakk also says he isn't fully sure what he'll do with the funds left over from his gubernatorial campaign. He says he'll probably use some of it to help his Democratic colleagues in the Minnesota Senate.
When asked if he's interested in the job as Senate Majority Leader, Bakk said "it's not up to me." The DFL Caucus elected DFL Senator Larry Pogemiller to Senate Majority Leader in 2006. Bakk lost the job by one vote.
You can listen to my full interview with Bakk here:
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