It’s a jam-packed field for Minnesota attorney general following a flurry of last-minute filings before Tuesday’s close-of-business deadline. Former state Senator Bob Lessard, an iconic figure on game-and-fish issues in Minnesota politics, is running as a Republican. He says he’s “concerned about the attempts on our legacy funding in the different forms, not only just the Lessard-Sams Council but the other funds, and I just think it’s become political.” The Republican-controlled legislature tapped trust fund dollars for a bonding bill and Democratic Governor Mark Dayton signed the legislation for other reasons, even though he opposed raiding legacy funds.
Lessard is challenging Republican-endorsed candidate Doug Wardlow and political gadfly Sharon Anderson for attorney general in the August 14th Republican primary. And after Tuesday’s filings there are currently six contenders in the D-F-L primary: endorsed candidate Matt Pelikan, Congressman Keith Ellison — who has Governor Mark Dayton’s endorsement — plus former Attorney General Mike Hatch, Representative Debra Hilstrom, former Ramsey County Attorney Tom Foley and former state Commerce Commissioner Mike Rothman.
Here’s Bill Werner’s interview with Lessard after he filed:
And Congressman Ellison’s media avail after he filed: