In his final hours in his leadership office House Republican Minority Leader Marty Seifert conducted an exit interview with the press. Surrounded by bubble wrap and a cart full of his packed personal items, Seifert prepared to move into a smaller office and make way for a new caucus leader. He proudly showed the huge stack of messages on the table of phone calls he has personally returned as minority leader. The candidate for governor will make it official July 7 or 8 at a business in Fridley "away from the pillars of the Capitol."
Seifert said the voting for a new leader could go late into the night tonight or early into tomorrow morning. He verified that a 3rd or 4th name could still emerge to challenge declared candidates Kurt Zellers and Randy Demmer. He said the biggest challenge for the new leader will be being the "chief recruiter, fundraiser, communicator and fire chief to put out fires." The outgoing leader says the immediate job for the incoming leader will be recruiting candidates and raising money. Seifert citing running Republican candidates in all 134 House seats and breaking fundraising records as some of his biggest accomplishments, but "having a cohesive message... and holding the caucus together" despite one override was what he sees as his legacy. He's always been friendly to the press and noted "in the battle of Google searches I've been quoted more times than the Speaker (of the House)."
In terms of the race for governor, Seifert has a huge monied name in Republican politics, Bill Cooper, on his side as a finance chair. Seifert says a candidate will have to raise $3 million at a minimum, most candidates I've talked to say they need to probably hit $5 million. He thinks at the Republican Convention on Sept. 19th if there's a straw poll the dozen candidates will be down to just three or four and by mid-session he expects there to be a frontrunner.