Annette Meeks

Republican gubernatorial candidate Rep. Tom Emmer surprised some in political circles today by announcing that his running mate heading into Thursday’s endorsing convention is Annette Meeks, a former deputy in the office of U.S. Rep. Newt Gingrich.

There had been reports that Emmer, who is locked in a close endorsement race with Rep. Marty Seifert, was going to select former legislator Linda Runbeck.

When reporters tried to pin down Emmer on whether the 50-year-old Meeks was his first choice, he quickly responded, “This is my choice.”

Just who is Meeks? 

She never has run for elective office but is well known among Minnesota conservatives. She’s been a political commentator, a founder of the conservative Freedom Foundation of Minnesota and is married to Jack Meeks, who also is long active in Republican Party politics.

It was even Republican politics that brought the Meeks together. She was working in Washington for Gingrich, while he was working for former Minnesota congressman Vin Weber. They’ve been married - and sharing the same political philosophy - for 16 years.

All gubernatorial candidates, of course, say that their lieutenant governor choice will run the office differently from what it’s been run in the past.

But, in this case, Emmer seems to mean it.

She will be in charge of coming up with the plan to redesign government, Emmer said.

 “I will sell it,’’ Emmer said.  His administration, he added, “won’t just talk about redesign, but we’ll make sure it happens.’’

He promised lower taxes, smaller government and fewer regulations.

But right off, the gubernatorial candidate and his partner seemed to have a slight difference of opinion.

Meeks has been a member of the Metropolitan Council, an appointee of Gov. Tim Pawlenty.

What does Emmer think of the Met Council?

“The Met Council needs to go away,” he said. “There’s good functions that they do, but there are 80 other counties in the state working just fine without the Met Council.”

Does Meeks think there’s a place for the Met Council?

“It is time to look at what [functions of the council] should stay and what shouldn’t stay,” she said.

 The selection of Meeks, a Minneapolis resident, should fit comfortably with Republican delegates who gather in Minneapolis Thursday to endorse their gubernatorial candidate.

Unlike Seifert’s choice for running mate, Rhonda Sivarajah, an Anoka County commissioner, Meeks is well known among active state Republicans.

But if Emmer wins endorsement, does she broaden his philosophical base for the November election?

Emmer is absolutely convinced making the Republican tent bigger is not necessary.

“I think the base is already with us,” said Emmer, who seems to be the favorite entering the convention. “We represent the average Minnesotan’s viewpoint. We stand for what Minnesotan’s believe in. We can’t continue down the road we’ve been going down.”

 Now, he’ll be going down the campaign road with Meeks, who grew up in Troy, Ill., and became a Minnesotan by virtue of attending the University of Minnesota.

Throughout her life, she said, she has leaned conservative but her years in Washington solidified her conservative convictions.

For years, Meeks has been holding news conferences at the Capitol. But in the past, those events were as a representative of the Freedom Foundation and, before that, as a leader of the conservative think tank, Center for the American Experiment. Typically, she stood with a conservative scholar, releasing a report that few paid attention to.

Today, though, the room at the State Office Building was jammed with reporters and Emmer fans, who applauded with frequency and always great gusto.

“I’m so nervous,” said Meeks, who co-hosts “The Poli-Chicks,” a current affairs radio show on MyTalk 107.1 FM.

It probably didn’t help that reporters kept peppering Emmer with questions about how he came to select Meeks.

Did Minnesotans Concerned for Life (a strong anti-abortion group) nix Runbeck?

“I’m not getting into how I chose,” said Emmer.

Emmer implied that rumors that Runbeck or former Secretary of State and now state Rep. Mary Kiffmeyer were the first choices might have been started by the Seifert campaign. Or, he suggested, they might have just been feints by his own campaign.

“In hockey,’’ Emmer said, “you sometimes drop your right shoulder, then go left, hoping that whoever is playing defense keeps going right,” he said.

In fact, Emmer is staying right.

Doug Grow writes about public affairs, state politics and other topics. He can be reached at dgrow [at] minnpost [dot] com.