Editor’s note: This is one of a series of occasional reports on the campaigns of the four Republican gubernatorial candidates.
Republican candidate for governor Scott Honour wants primary voters to follow the money.
“We need someone that has the resources to bear to win the race,” Honour said of the fall’s race against DFL Gov. Mark Dayton. “We will be the only the campaign that has the ability to go toe-to-toe with the governor raising money.”
With $225,000 in his campaign account, Honour has more than twice as much cash on hand as his competitors — state Rep. Kurt Zellers, former House Minority Leader Marty Seifert and endorsed GOP candidate Jeff Johnson. Much of that advantage comes from the $300,000 he lent the campaign this year. That was money well-spent, he said.
“We funded all the infrastructure — personnel, technology,” Honour said of the personal loans. Now, he said, when he calls on donors, “we can say that every dollar we raise is going directly into advertising, into getting our message out.”
When the Honour campaign ads hit the air in a few weeks, expect to hear the phrases “private-sector experience,” which he gained from his years as an investment banker, and “career politician,” which is how he describes his competitors.
Honour talks about the need for smarter spending, changes in regulations and taxes, and education, as do the other three Republican candidates. But he’s trying to insert a wedge of difference.
“The candidates I’m running against have been in leadership positions for quite awhile, and we haven’t gotten our agenda passed,” he said. “I know from my experience in the private sector you can always lower costs and get better results.”
Honour says he has a refined and sophisticated strategy to get that message to the right people.
“We’re focused on two target groups,” he said. “One — the traditional primary voter. I think they’re going to like what I’m about.
“[And] we’re going to be reaching to new voters; new with respect to the primary — folks that have not voted in Republican primaries in the past and have them understand that they have a great chance to put their voice behind this race in a way that will impact the outcome.”
And that’s the third part of the Honour message, and, perhaps, the most challenging to deliver. He says he will be telling the primary voters that they — not party insiders — should have a say in choosing the Republican nominee.
The campaign must persuade them that they care enough about that choice — and Honour — to show up to vote on Aug. 12.
Typical
Honour talks about the need for smarter spending, changes in regulations and taxes, and education…
I love how these Republican candidates from the business world always talk about how they want to change State regulations and tax policies. If everything is so bad, how did you do so well owning a business in the State of Minnesota? Perhaps those tax and education policies you rail against created a climate for success. Just a thought.
Better results for whom
“I know from my experience in the private sector you can always lower costs and get better results.”
Spoken like a true clueless man in a suit. The worker bees have been suffering from this kind of thinking for years now. Continuous improvement everywhere but in the pay and benefits packet. Squeeze people and destroy the community. Buy a bigger house in a gated enclave. It’s a great life.
Honour’s may have cash
but a failed right wing philosophy will make it an effort in futility for him. He will find the $300,000, he lent his campaign, will be a bad investment. Just as it will be bad investment for the voters to vote for him and the failed Republican talking points. The Republicans have hamstrung themselves, even if they have any new ideas, because anyone straying from the Republican talking points is considered not Republican enough. It is more important to the Republicans, to be Republicans and suffer the losses that go along with distinction. It’s a failed philosophy right from the start.
Results
“I know from my experience in the private sector you can always lower costs and get better results.”
That quote says a lot about what we can expect from Mr Honour as govenor. Better results for who, Mr Honour?
Honour’s vow to eliminate Obamacare
I don’t watch TV at home, but have been seeing Scott Honour’s ads (in silence) at the gym lately. That’s where I’m doing rehab exercises for the leg I broke in January…the leg which was repaired via the HealthPartners coverage I got through MNSure. We’re an all-freelancer, self-employed household with a fluctuating income, and this year’s premiums saved us $4000 over the BCBS premiums we were paying previously. I’ll end up paying close to $6K for my leg repair, with the deductible and my percentage of the bills after it, and am pretty relieved that we’re not paying an additional $4K to the insurance company for premiums!
Scott Honour, I like MNSure/Obamacare just fine. Please explain to me what’s so bad about it, other than the buggy website, which actually worked for me back in November.
Davis for Governor
I can’t wait to get rid of Dayton in the 8/12 primary, and then get my hands on any of the Republicans, regardless of how much money they have.
My team has the issues and the people on our side and we will prevail.
Results 2.0
Ironically, here’s an article in Today’s MinnPost about how efficient and honest Minnesota’s public employees are. For those who don’t want to pop over to the article for a quick look, Minnesota ranked third in the list of least corrupt states.
http://www.minnpost.com/minnesota-blog-cabin/2014/06/public-corruption-transparency-and-payback-being-good-government-state
#*&^% INVESTMENT BANKER &*^%!
Which means he has made a lot of money (and good for him) while employing very few people, and adding no intrinsic value to the economy, unlike companies transforming a resource into something of greater value like manufacturing, construction, mining, energy, software development, etc… Instead Mr. Honour and his ilk have positioned themselves in the middle of countless buy/sell deals that siphon money from companies engaged in positive, transformative activities leading to lay offs, slashed R&D budgets, off shoring. This has been such a lucrative deal for Mr. Honour that he now brags he can self finance his way to the Governor’s office and we should be happy about it.
“I made a lot of money, so I’m qualified for high office”
This is such a well-travelled road, no ? I think the reason this works is the fallacious suggestion that if they made a lot of money for themselves, maybe they’ll be economically beneficial for US, too.
Has it ever worked out that way ?
Funny,
How both Honour and the endorsed Senate candidate, McFadden, have almost the same resume: forty something, semi-self starting investment bankers who enjoyed great success beginning with the Clinton economy and continuing on through to the Obama economy and, of course, they now stand ready to “fix” the vehicle that made them wealthy. You can’t make this stuff up: neither has demonstrated any “hands on” ability to create jobs or build companies: they both are creatures of the Wall Street culture: creating deals that make a very few wealthy while stripping down companies that used to create the middle class jobs they now say they can fix as public servants. They never showed any competence doing this in their careers to this point, why would anyone possibly think they can do it now?
Honour sounds, and behaves, a lot like
Mitt Romney.
Perhaps this should be of concern to him and the Minnesota GOP?
Guess not…
Lending campaign funds
Would someone please explain how candidates “lend” themselves campaign funds? What interest rate do they charge themselves? How long does one have to re-pay? Does one sue oneself if the loan is not repaid? ?
Now onto a (somewhat) partisan observation: What does it say about a candidate who has to self-finance a campaign? Exactly where is the support (grassroots or fois gras) for such a candidacy? (Yes, I recognize that Mark Dayton identically self-financed several of his campaigns. The criticism holds, no matter the candidate.)
Lending yourself campaign funds can be quite lucrative
You can charge your campaign much higher than bank interest (20% is not unheard of) and it all gets paid back by future donors.
Interesting
I had no idea that practice was common. Lending money to a campaign is a dodge of campaign finance laws, but I would have thought candidates would have the integrity to make loans without interest.
I can hear you. Stop laughing at me.
If only that were the only loophole
60 minutes did a good job on this issue
http://www.cbsnews.com/news/washingtons-open-secret-profitable-pacs-2/
I agree that loaning yourself a big chunk of money and getting corporate supporters to pay you 20% interest is a good way to make money, even if you lose the election.
confirmation
Now I know why I voted for Dayton.