Michele Bachmann and the 2000 election

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Michele Bachmann had expressed a desire to run for State Senate to the GOP leadership and was told to concentrate on running for school board instead. After spliting her focus by promoting EdWatch across Minnesota during her school board campaign, Bachmann lost that election. After the defeat she threw herself whole-heartedly into her campaign for State Senator in 2000.

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[edit] Securing the GOP endorsement

On April 1, 2000, the Minnesota GOP held its endorsing convention for the District 56 Senate seat. The result marked a shift towards more social conservatism in the party, Michele Bachmann was given the GOP endorsement over fellow Republican the moderate State Senator Gary Laidig. She succeeded at securing the endorsement despite Laidig being a Vietnam veteran who had held the State Senate seat of District 56 for 28 years.

Both sides have different takes on what occurred. Laidig holds that many of the new delegates had "religious litmus tests... and they were getting support in the churches". He found it distasteful to "bring the pulpit to politics". His differences with the new wave of delegates caused them to view him as "a Republican in name only".[1] Despite 30 years of loyalty to the party he suddenly had a real opponent in Bachmann. Though she was dismissed by Laidig as not a serious contender, in a stunning upset she won the endorsement on the first ballot getting 62% to Laidig's 38%.[2]

Bachmann's supporters claim that it was her opposition to Minnesota's Profile of Learning (which Laidig supported) that won her the endorsement. They saw Laidig as "the senator who for years has been opposing the party platform". Her supporters claim "Dr. Bachmann herself, who had no intention of running, was shocked by her victory". They say she only became convinced to run by a "spontaneous and genuine draft effort". Bachmann herself said "I came in wearing jeans, a sweatshirt and moccasins, and I had no makeup on at all. I had not one piece of literature, I had made not one phone call, and spent not five cents and I did not solicit a vote." Laidig maintains Bachmann performed a well executed political maneuver to secure the endorsement and that "She planned this all along."[1]

While Bachmann continues to insist she was drafted at the convention (as her 2004 interview with the Naples Sun Times shows[3]) her version of events are at odds with those of Bill Pulkrabek, then the head of the GOP's chair for the Stillwater District. Pulkrabek spoke to Bachmann in 1999, he says she "told him she wanted to run for Laidig's seat. He, instead, encouraged her to run for school board first: 'We talked about knocking off Gary later.'"[1]

[edit] GOP primary 2000 campaign

Controversy surrounded the Bachmann run for the GOP primary because of the actions of Minnesota Senate Minority Leader Repubican Dick Day. Senator Day had promised to remain neutral in the GOP primary in District 56, but that did not last. His first act breaking neutrality was to publish a personal letter of recommendation for his longtime colleague and friend Gary Laidig in the local newspaper. Far more controversial was his directing funding from the Senate Republican Committee to the Holmquist group, HCS, to call voters in Minnesota Senate District 56 asking for their opinion on an accusation that Bachmann insulted the mothers of the victims of the Columbine tragedy.

Michele Bachmann responded to the situation saying "The Senate Republican Campaign Committee has hired professional phoners to call into our district in order to deliberately spread falsehoods, There is no place for this kind of politics in Minnesota political campaigns.... This is appalling, absolutely outrageous and totally false. This is push polling and clearly in violation of Minnesota law. It is both illegal and unethical. They must be in a very desperate way to sink to these tactics."

The Chairman of the Minnesota Republican Party, Ron Eibensteiner, personally called upon Minority Leader Dick Day to immediately stop the Committee's illegal advertising. Bachmann's supporters saw the situation as a "Good Ol' Boys" network "opposing the citizens who want to choose their own representative in free and open elections."[4]

Actively supporting Senator Laidig were some Minnesota political luminaries (and supporters of Profile of Learning) such as former Governor Arne Carlson and former state Senator and 1998 gubernatorial candidate Joanne Benson.[5] One of Michele Bachmann's active supporters at the time was then mayor of Saint Paul Norm Coleman (who went on to represent the state in the United States Senate).

Besides running on educational reform, Bachmann also said her work as a tax lawyer was first hand experience that taxes must be held down and were in need of reform. During this campaign (and in a 2004 Naples Sun Times interview[3]) Bachmann claimed the title "Doctor" because of her LLM (Master of Laws) degree in Tax Law, this was improper usage in the US where only the legal degree of Scientiae Juris Doctor (Doctor of the Science of Law), which has the same requirements as a Ph.D., is considered worthy of the title of Doctor.

Bachmann went on to win the primary carrying 60% of the votes to Laidig's 40%.[6] Gary Laidig has since become a lobbyist with clients including the Ramsey County Sheriff's Office.

[edit] General election 2000

In the general election, Bachmann faced Minnesota Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party nominee Ted Thompson (a Stillwater lawyer, mortgage broker, and former chief of staff for retired 6th District Congressman Bill Luther[7]) and Independence Party candidate, Lyno Sullivan (a computer programmer who proposed Minnesota government use software to capture citizen input and save taxes by adopting Linux[8]).

The GOP's 2000 election literature called Bachmann “an incredibly hard-working candidate…exceptionally well-versed on the issues”. They also pointed out her level of support “Every parade has at least 75 volunteers walking with her, handing out stickers and literature”, and said “Bachmann is a one-woman dynamo, and she's caught up a good chunk of the district in her enthusiasm. She seems to have mastered most of the campaign fundamentals, including fundraising, volunteer organization, and smart strategy.”[9]

One of her proposals in 2000 was to "eliminate state corporate and personal income taxes and replace them with an expanded sales tax." Minnesota Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party candidate Ted Thompson said the plan "spells trouble for low and moderate-income families" and was "dangerous for anyone earning a living from the retail trade in Senate District 56." He said "The plan is poorly thought out, especially for someone who actively touts her experience and credentials as a licensed tax attorney and former attorney for the IRS."[10]

Michele Bachmann won the State Senate seat with 52%, Ted Thompson carried 43% and Lyno Sullivan carried 5%."[11] Bachmann's supporters said the race was one of three "won with the battle over the Profile of Learning as one of the defining issues. The teacher's union spent thousands of dollars against each of these winning candidates because Education Minnesota supports the Profile of Learning."[11]

Reflecting on the race, her opponent Ted Thompson said "A lot of political types didn't think she could win, but she had name recognition because of that school board run."[12]

[edit] Sources

  1. ^ a b c Anderson, Jr., G.R.. ""The Chosen One"", City Pages (Minneapolis), October 4, 2006.
  2. ^ Republican Senator loses endorsement over Profile. EdAction (April 3, 2000). Retrieved on November 11, 2006
  3. ^ a b La Paglia, Bernadette. "Senator lectures on educational complacency", Naples Sun Times, Townnews Pub., Oct. 6, 2004. Retrieved on Nov. 11, 2006
  4. ^ Bachmann calls for end to Illegal Campaigning. EdAction (April 16, 2000). Retrieved on November 11, 2006
  5. ^ Bachmann wins Primary in SD 56!. EdAction (September, 2000). Retrieved on November 11, 2006
  6. ^ Campaign Election Results 2000. Minnesota Public Radio. Retrevial date Nov. 11, 2006
  7. ^ "Candidate Bio", Minnesota Public Radio. Retrieved on Nov. 14, 2006
  8. ^ Sullivan, Lyno. Seeking Zope Volunteers. Lyno Sullivan Volunteer Committee. Retrieved on Nov. 14, 2006
  9. ^ Cronin, Bridget (September 5, 2000). GOP Newsline - General Election Countdown: 63 Days.
  10. ^ Thompson, Ted. Bachmann Tax Plan Would Cripple Businesses And Hurt Consumers. Retrieved on Nov. 13, 2006
  11. ^ a b Minnesota Election Results. Maple River Education Coalition (Nov 10, 2000).Retrieved on Nov. 13, 2006
  12. ^ Anderson, Jr., G.R.. ""Somebody Say 'Oh Lord!'"", City Pages (Minneapolis), February 23, 2005.
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