GOP House Minority Leader Marty Seifert stepped down from his leadership post because he is "considering a run for governor." He added "if you're distracted in any way it may not be fair to your membership." A year ago Seifert actually blushed when we asked if wanted to run for governor, today he said "a lot changed in the last year" and he expected Gov. Pawlenty would run for a third term.
He hopes a lot, 5-10 Republicans will run and the party will find a "gentle balance between people who are principled and electable." He will abide by the endorsement. The 37-year-old said he has some things working against him he's "young, German in a Scandinavian state, Catholic in a Lutheran state" but taking a page from Obama book he says people don't care about that anymore.
Rep. Tom Emmer says he's probably putting his hat into the ring to run again to replace Seifert as minority leader. The passionate conservative from Delano tried to unseat Seifert last year. Emmer is away from the Capitol until Monday and not available for an interview.