Almanac: At the Capitol

The media were there in mass to watch the unpredictable last-minute candidate filings at the secretary of state's office. The Independence Party of Minnesota will have quite the spirited primary with more than half a dozen candidates now in the mix. After Jesse Ventura announced on CNN he wouldn't run, Ventura's close ally Dean Barkley decided to get into the race. Gov. Ventura appointed Barkley to serve 8 days in the U.S. Senate after Sen. Paul Wellstone's death. Barkley said Jesse is "tough act to follow" and it's like "stepping into a big shadow." Barkley pressed that he can get things done and proved it during his short stint in Washington. He said "I'm not there to throw bombs, I can collaborate."

Barkley will be facing former IP Chair Jack Uldrich. Not sure what it says about a party when there's an endorsed candidate being challenged by not just a dozen people, but a former party chair. Uldrich has a good sense of sportmanship in all of this and said the number of candidates is "wonderful for democracy and the Independence Party." He also said he has nothing against Dean Barkley, they just run different campaigns. The author and public speaker plans a viral campaign relying heavily on the internet.

Finally, Al Franken will have a DFL primary opponent as well. Priscilla Lord Faris was the only candidate who had a press release and staff today. Her release says "I am deeply concerned about the direction of the Al Franken candidacy." Faris said her tipping point was Frankens poor showing in the polls, but also "the work done as a comedian may come back to bite him." Faris was the only one at the podium who hadn't done a press conference before and she held up just fine. Her father is a former attorney general and the name has weight. But Franken has more current name ID, money and an endorsement that has more meaning than in the past when DFLers regularly had primary battles. She said she has a ton experience in Minnesota.