Minnesota LP candidate to run for GOP endorsement

I received a head's up on this from Politics1.com and got the story from WCCO's website out of Minneapolis. Jeffers has been prominent challenging anti-smoking ordinaces that have been popping up all across the state of Minnesota recently (moves originated from the Green Party no less, a direct LP-Green challenge). It will be interesting to see if there's any discontent out in the GOP electorate that she can capitalize on. Either way, Jeffers has taken a page right out of the NPL handbook trying to get a major-party label endorsement. No LP members would have done this even two years ago. It shows some new thinking is entering the world of non-major parties and that's good to see.

---Sean Scallon

Jeffers Challenges Gov. For Republican Endorsement
(AP) Minneapolis Sue Jeffers, who entered the governor's race in January as a Libertarian candidate, is now challenging Gov. Tim Pawlenty for the Republican Party endorsement.

But party officials say the 49-year-old bar owner is not a real Republican and are blocking her efforts.

"We cannot give (Pawlenty) a free ride," said Jeffers, who owns Stub & Herb's, a Minneapolis bar near the University of Minnesota campus.

"I am the only fiscal conservative running in this race," she said.

Jeffers has helped lead the fight against local smoking bans. She pushed successfully for Hennepin County to soften its smoking ban, and has also spoken out against a proposed statewide smoking ban.

Republican Party chairman Ron Carey noted that until recently Jeffers was running as a Libertarian Party candidate and has its endorsement. The state convention "is reserved for Republicans and Republican candidates," he said. "We can monitor who we want there."

The party's executive committee will not provide Jeffers with the lists of about 1,500 recently elected state convention delegates, which is an essential tool for organizing an endorsement campaign, Carey said.

Convention rules, which are not written yet, might include requirement for a minimum number of signatures from delegates for a candidate to be allowed to compete, Carey said.

Jeffers describes herself as both a libertarian and a "lifelong Republican." She said she has always voted for Republicans, volunteered for the Pawlenty campaign in 2002 and has served as a Republican election judge.

She said she began talking to delegates and other activists about the switch in her candidacy a few weeks ago and plans to make an announcement next week.

Pawlenty campaign chairman Mike Krueger said Jeffer's criticism of the governor is not fair. He said Pawlenty is "one of the most fiscally responsible governors in modern history."

(© 2006 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)