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Health & Fitness

Top Two Primary would encourage more candidates to run

It is another election season in Minnesota, All the major political parties are having endorsement conventions to put preferred candidates on the ballot in November. Why does The DFL, GOP and The IP do this, when these major parties also have primaries? I believe DFL and GOP especially on the state-wide and federal level race use the caucus delegates to pick candidates that are most loyal to the ideology or leadership of the party itself to pin against grassroots, or more independent minded candidates in a primary contest. I have always felt the caucus and endorsement convention system is “Undemocratic”. I believe Minnesota should consider a possible alternative like a Top-Two Primary. A Top-Two Primary is being used in elections in Louisiana and California where candidates regardless of party can run in a primary, but the two candidates with the highest votes would be in a run-off election. The run-off election of the two candidates with the highest votes would determine who gets elected to that office.  A theoretical top-two primary system in Minnesota would not prevent the major parties from having caucuses and endorsing candidates, but that party preferred candidate would have to compete with other candidates in that primary. An example could be a gubernatorial race in which a GOP-endorsed candidate would face 12 other candidates like 3 others from his or her party, 4 candidates from the DFL including their endorsed candidate, 3 candidates from the Independence Party including their endorsed candidate and 2 other smaller party or unaffiliated candidates.  A party partisan would ask would this prevent my party’s endorsed candidate from getting to a top run-off or getting elected. The answer is no.  An endorsed or preferred candidate would still get support from the party and/or the party’s favorite special interest groups. This election system does not prevent a political action committee’s fundraising or advertising from being a factor in the election. I believe it only gives other candidates an opportunity to partake in an election process without collecting signatures or having to honor an endorsement convention. I hope to at least entertain the idea of reforms to our states nominating and election process in state and federal elections.



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