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Minnesota maverick
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| Contributor | Jason |
| Last Edited | Jason Dec 22, 2009 02:47am |
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| Category | General |
| Author | Micah Sifry |
| News Date | Friday, October 30, 1998 08:00:00 AM UTC0:0 |
| Description | MINNEAPOLIS --No matter the result of next week's Minnesota gubernatorial race, a 47-year-old former Navy Seal, 11-year professional wrestler ("The Body"), actor ("Predator"), talk-radio host and maverick mayor of a Minneapolis suburb named Jesse Ventura has emerged as the surprise wild card of this fall's election season. Ventura is running as the candidate of Ross Perot's Reform Party, and with a bravura style that blends attacks on "career politicians" and high taxes with support for smaller public school classes, he has shocked the political establishment of this staid Midwestern state.
A week and a half ago, the Star Tribune/KMSP-TV Minnesota Poll found support for Ventura among likely voters had doubled in the last month, from 10 to 21 percent, while the front-running Democratic candidate, Minnesota Attorney General Hubert "Skip" Humphrey III (son of the former vice president and a state icon), had crashed 14 points to 35 percent. Republican nominee Norm Coleman, the New York-born mayor of St. Paul, was in a close second at 34 percent. But the attention has suddenly shifted to Ventura, a Minnesota native and imposing 6-foot-4-inch presence on any stage.
Across the nation, the political circus in Washington is disgusting the public and likely to lead to a low turnout on Election Day. But this is a race to watch, because it's the most visible election in the country in which voters have a chance to thumb their noses at both parties. And Ventura is smartly playing off the Monica/impeachment slugfest, reminding voters, "We've got a lot of problems that government should be dealing with, but for the next nine months the focus will be on despicable behavior by career politicians. If this isn't the right time for a third party, then when?" |
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