Thissen joins DFL field for Minnesota governor

DFL state Rep. Paul Thissen of Minneapolis formally launched his campaign for governor Thursday and joined a growing field of candidates.

Thissen has been campaigning for months, and filed his campaign finance paperwork back in November. Still, the four-term legislator stood in his yard with family and friends to make an official announcement.

Thissen said he wants to take the state in a new direction, and plans to emphasize health care reform, education and job creation. He also said it's time to think big and dream big.

"The conventional wisdom politics, the old tired ways, the ways of distrust and divisiveness and personality conflicts, they won't serve us any longer," Thissen said. "We need a Minnesota leader who is going to stand up and again say yes to the promise of this state."

State Republican Party officials describe Thissen as a "big city liberal." They issued a news release saying his candidacy means the race to the far left is officially underway.

Thissen joins a DFL field heavy with inner-ring candidates and light on those from other parts. As many as four Minneapolis Democrats are in or may end up running, including Thissen, former U.S. Sen. Mark Dayton, House Speaker Margaret Anderson Kelliher and Mayor R.T. Rybak. Most of the others come from zip codes in or near Minneapolis or St. Paul.

Appeal beyond the Twin Cities will be critical to winning the DFL Party endorsement. Thissen needs the party's backing to become governor, since he pledged to drop out if he doesn't get it.

The 42-year-old attorney has been all over the state in recent weeks, visiting Thief River Falls, Hibbing, Belle Plaine, Andover and other locations. He said he plans to stay on the road because running statewide is the only way to win.

"We need a Minnesota leader who is going to stand up and again say yes to the promise of this state."

The Democratic field is still forming, with eight announced candidates and at least three others contemplating campaigns. Kelliher, Rybak and St. Paul Mayor Chris Coleman have yet to announce their plans.

The others are: Thissen, Dayton, state Sens. Tom Bakk of Cook and John Marty of Roseville, former state Rep. Matt Entenza of St. Paul, Ramsey County Attorney Susan Gaertner, former state Sen. Steve Kelley of Hopkins and painter Ole Savior.

Only Bakk, who lives in northeastern Minnesota, comes from far outside the core Twin Cities.

On the Republican side, the race is also unsettled after GOP Gov. Tim Pawlenty ruled out a third term. Candidates include former state auditor Pat Anderson, a former Eagan mayor; state Sens. David Hann of Eden Prairie and Mike Jungbauer of East Bethel; state Reps. Tom Emmer of Delano, Paul Kohls of Victoria and Marty Seifert of Marshall; and former state Rep. Bill Haas of Champlin. Former U.S. Sen. Norm Coleman, who lives in St. Paul, hasn't made his plans public.

Thissen is known mainly for his work on health care issues, including pushing for coverage for all children. He heads the main House health care policy committee. In recent weeks, he has visited hospitals around the state as they brace for state budget cuts.

On Thursday, he criticized Pawlenty's move to eliminate General Assistance Medical Care, a state-funded health insurance program for low-income, childless adults, saying the decision "crossed a moral line."

"We need a governor who's going to stand up and challenge the political philosophy that has dominated us for too long, a philosophy that tells us that we will all be better off if we're just left to fend for ourselves," Thissen said.

He added: "We have seen the human cruelty that results from that philosophy. When Governor Pawlenty, with a stroke of his veto pen, eliminated health care for 30,000 of the most vulnerable, poorest Minnesotans, we learned what that philosophy will lead to."

Thissen said he was open to discussions of raising taxes but also emphasized controlling health care costs, streamlining government and improving the economy by creating jobs.

(The Assocaited Press contributed to this report.)

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