The takeover of state Republican caucuses and conventions by Ron Paul supporters has now claimed another triumph. In Minnesota, a state legislator affiliated with Paul’s forces has won the party’s official endorsement for U.S. Senate, in the uphill effort to unseat Democratic Sen. Amy Klobuchar.
Freshman state Rep. Kurt Bills won the party’s endorsement at the state convention on Friday, the Star Tribune reports, taking 64 percent of the vote on the second ballot to surpass the required 60 percent threshold. Bills had already taken over 50 percent of the vote on the first ballot, against two challengers who were nearly tied for second place.
Bills was the first state legislator in Minnesota to endorse Paul for president in the 2012 cycle, and Paul in turn endorsed Bills for Senate. And now with the endorsement of the convention, Bills has likely won the nomination itself, with the state primary in August likely more of a formality.
Party conventions in Minnesota play an important role in state politics for both Republicans and Democrats — if one candidate win the 60 percent of delegates needed for an endorsement, the other candidates typically drop out.
As the St. Paul Pioneer Press noted, all three Republican candidates in this endorsement fight have pledged to abide by the endorsement process, and to drop out if they lose.
