What’s next for Democrats after ‘dumpster fire’ day?
At the end of filings Tuesday, Minnesota Democrats were facing a six-way primary for attorney general in August, a sudden eight-way intraparty battle for U.S. Rep. Keith Ellison’s seat, and an unexpected, three-way primary for the open governor’s seat.
It was all part of what was described by some Democrats and Republicans as a “dumpster fire” day for Minnesota’s DFL Party.
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For Dan McGrath, the executive director of TakeAction Minnesota, a progressive campaign group, the divisions in the DFL now are part of a bigger change happening in the DNA of the party. He thinks candidates like Swanson, a moderate who has been attorney general for more than a decade, represent a fading wing of the DFL party
“This is the old guard making an end run around the future of the party,” said McGrath, whose organization endorsed Murphy for governor. “For the DFL party 20 or 30 years ago, the political landscape in our state was very different. The candidates that are rising to the top right now are the ones who really understand how our state has changed demographically, racially, and they are carving out a vision for what that will look like.”
And plenty of Democrats think the glut of candidates filing for office is simply a direct result of enthusiasm across the party, voters and candidates alike.
“I would much rather go into this general election with an incredible amount of energy, more than anything else,” McGrath said. “The byproduct of that is, it’s going to be messy.”
