It's hard running as an independent. I wouldn't have won the Senate election if I hadn't been governor. I had credibility. The hard part is getting voters to the point where they think it's thinkable and not a waste of time.
Sentiment: NEGATIVE
If I were running to be somebody, there are a lot of easier sombodies to be. After all, running against the incumbent governor of your own party in your home state is not the next logical step in a political life.
When I finished my term, I thought about running for governor then but decided not to because, frankly, I didn't think I was ready. I wasn't comfortable that I was prepared to do the job.
The voters reward good performance. So, I'm going to go out and focus, if I become the governor, to do the very best job I can as governor. The rest of it will take care of itself.
Running to do a job as important as the governor's shouldn't be easy; it should take a lot of work, and I'm out there giving my best every day.
After thinking carefully about how I can best help my fellow Minnesotans, I have decided to not seek election for a different office in 2014. The warm encouragement from many people to run for U.S. senator or the governorship was deeply humbling.
I ran for the Senate six times. And one of the things I know about Senate races off years and on races, and on years, the same as governor's races, is it's all local. It all gets down to what the specific issues in that - in that district or that state is.
I'm a former governor, and so I was the chief executive, and when the legislature wasn't in session, I was running the state.
I'm running for governor; I'm not running for a legislative office.
When I first ran for governor, the political class and party leaders opposed me with great vigor, and some even said if I won the primary they would never vote for me. But the voters had other ideas, and they are the only ones who count.
My tenure in the Senate was really as an independent and whichever, regardless of party label.