Parties scramble to replace Day on Owatonna

`Twas the week before Christmas, and when most folks were hoping to have visions of sugar plums dancing through their heads, the political parties in Minnesota District 26 were scrambling like last-minute shoppers to find a candidate to replace outgoing Sen. Dick Day.
Day, an Owatonna Republican, prompted this mad dash when he announced earlier this month that he would be stepping down from his Senate seat in January, a year before his term was set to expire. His resignation led Gov. Tim Pawlenty to call a special election, now set for Jan. 26, which, in turn, means that the filing for the office will take place from Dec. 23 through Dec. 29, when most of us have our thoughts focused on anything but politics. However, with so much at stake, the political parties have no such luxury because they know how important having this seat in St. Paul will mean, particularly in the upcoming session.
The ensuing contest has been interesting to say the least.
The Independence Party seems to be a bit ahead of the game when it comes to having their candidate in place. Unless another candidate tosses his or her hat into the ring, then it looks as if Waseca Mayor Roy Srp has the nomination all wrapped up and under the tree. If that’s the case, then he can spend the next month getting his message out to the voters in the district.
The Democrats may be in the same situation. We say “may be” because if there is a consensus candidate coming out of the DFL camp, then no one is saying who that candidate might be. If so, then the DFL is like a person who has purchased the Christmas presents, wraps them up and then hides them, leaving everyone with a surprise to open on the holiday.
That leaves the Republicans, who are truly like the last-shoppers, with a lot of rushing and jostling to see who will be the standard bearer. On Friday alone, four more candidates - Owatonna Mayor Tom Kuntz, Owatonna businessman Ted Boosalis, Faribault City Council Member Steven Underdahl and Faribault businesswoman Teri Menard - joined former Waseca City Council Member Mike Parry, who had already declared his candidacy, in the race for the Republican nomination. And with the Christmas holiday occurring right in the middle of the filing period, the GOP is left to try to settle on its choice at a district nominating convention slated for Dec. 28 - one day before the filing period is set to end. Even then, if all the candidates don’t agree to support the candidate the convention nominates - something that Dick Day himself declined to do on a statewide basis when he ran for the Republican nomination to oppose Rep. Tim Walz - then a primary will be held on Jan. 12, leaving the GOP with just two weeks to get its message out to voters. And that could prove to be coal in the party’s Christmas stocking.

Owatonna People’s Press editorials are the opinion of the Press editorial board. Other editorials, columns, letters and cartoons appearing on this page are the opinions of the authors and artists and not necessarily the People’s Press.

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