Quist taking his 1st District campaign to primary

Posted at 3:33 PM on April 30, 2012 by Mike Mulcahy
Filed under: Campaign 2012: U.S. MN CD2

After the Republican 1st District convention went 23 ballots without an endorsement in the race for Congress a couple weekends ago, one of the candidates said today he would not wait for another convention and would instead run in the August primary.

Former state Rep. Allen Quist said the convention had deadlocked over the choice between him and state Sen. Mike Parry, R-Waseca.

"The reality is that there is no Republican endorsed candidate," said Quist in a press release.

"The May 12th follow-up convention, which I strongly supported and which the delegates approved, ran into insurmountable scheduling difficulties," said Quist. "Going to the primary is now the only reasonable course of action, since June 2nd is the earliest a new convention can be scheduled, if one is scheduled at all."

Quist and Parry are competing for the nomination to run against incumbent DFL Congressman Tim Walz.

UPDATE:

Mike Parry issued a statement indicating he too will go to the primary. Here's part of what it said:

"While we're disappointed that Allen Quist broke his word, we look forward to taking the conversation to the broader public. Allen Quist has repeatedly been tried, tested and rejected in his numerous attempts to attain higher office. We are confident that Minnesotans will choose the only conservative candidate who has a proven ability to win -- with not only conservative Republicans but also independent voters and Reagan Democrats."

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