Tom Horner

Tom Horner (born July 23, 1950) is a Minnesota politician and a member of the Independence Party of Minnesota. He was a candidate in the 2010 election for Governor of Minnesota.

Tom Horner
Personal details
Born (1950-07-23) July 23, 1950
Minneapolis, Minnesota, U.S.
Political partyRepublican (Before 2010)
Independence (2010–present)
Spouse(s)Libby Horner
ChildrenAmanda
Kevin
Christopher
Alma materUniversity of St. Thomas

Early life and education

Born and raised in Minneapolis, Horner attended Benilde-St. Margaret's. He received his bachelor's degree from the University of St. Thomas.[1]

Career

In 1978, Horner worked as press secretary for Republican U.S. Senate candidate and future Senator David Durenberger. After Durenberger was elected, Horner served as Durenberger's press secretary and chief of staff.[2][3]

After serving in Washington, Horner returned to Minnesota, where he co-founded Himle Horner Inc., a public affairs firm. He also served as an adjunct professor at the University of St. Thomas, where he teaches courses on communication and public affairs.[4]

Today Horner is a principal in Horner Strategies, LLC, a public affairs and public relations firm.[5]

2010 gubernatorial campaign
Main article: 2010 Minnesota gubernatorial election

In 2010, Horner announced that he would run for governor, seeking the endorsement of the Independence Party. Horner, who had previously identified as a Republican, said he was running because both the Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party (DFL) and Republican candidates had become too extreme in their views.[6] Horner was endorsed by his former boss, Durenberger, as well as former congressman and gubernatorial candidate Tim Penny.[7]

On May 9, 2010, Horner received the endorsement of the Independence Party for governor.[8] He faced Rob Hahn in the August 10 primary election, winning by a wide margin, and was therefore the ballot in the state's November 2 general election. He gained the endorsement of two former Republican governors, Arne Carlson[9] and Al Quie.[10] For supporting Horner, 18 Republicans, including Durenberger, Carlson, and Quie, were banned from participating in the Republican Party of Minnesota for two years.[11] Other endorsements of Horner include onetime DFL U.S. Senate candidate Mike Ciresi on October 19,[12] the Star Tribune,[13] and the Duluth News Tribune.[14]

Horner received 11.9% of the vote.[15][16] Independence Party candidates generally draw votes both from Republican- and DFL-leaning voters, but according to the St. Paul Pioneer Press, more Republicans voted for Horner than for the Independence candidate in the previous gubernatorial election. "Many Republicans apparently voted for Horner and then cast ballots for GOP legislative candidates," costing the Republican Party the Governor's office in a year they won both houses of the legislature.[17][18]

References
  1. "Minnesota governor's race profiles: Independence Party's Tom Horner eyes middle ground". Twin Cities. July 17, 2010. Retrieved June 29, 2020.
  2. "Meet Tom Horner". Tom Horner for Governor 2010. Archived from the original on April 19, 2010. Retrieved May 19, 2010.
  3. Asking the $86,000 Question| MN Political Roundtable
  4. "Master of Business Communication Faculty". Retrieved October 21, 2012.
  5. http://www.hornerstrategies.com
  6. Grow, Doug (April 27, 2010). "Independence Party's Tom Horner dreaming of a governor's race that leaves him alone in the middle". MinnPost.
  7. Tom Horner Archived May 16, 2010, at the Wayback Machine
  8. Mannix, Andy (May 9, 2010). "Tom Horner wins IP endorsement". City Pages Blog. Archived from the original on November 2, 2010.
  9. "Arne Carlson endorses Tom Horner for governor". MinnPost. September 14, 2010. Retrieved November 4, 2010.
  10. Scheck, Tom (October 21, 2010). "Capitol View: Quie backs Horner". Minnesota Public Radio. Retrieved November 4, 2010.
  11. Hohmann, James (December 11, 2010). "Minn. GOP brings out the knives for moderates". The Politico. Retrieved August 15, 2010.
  12. "Former Senate candidate Mike Ciresi becomes first prominent DFLer to back Tom Horner". MinnPost. October 19, 2010. Retrieved August 4, 2011.
  13. "Editorial: Tom Horner for governor". Star Tribune. October 20, 2010. Archived from the original on October 22, 2010. Retrieved November 12, 2010.
  14. "DNT endorsement: Tom Horner for Minnesota governor". Duluth News Tribune. October 17, 2010.
  15. "Statewide Results for Governor". Minnesota Secretary of State's Office. Archived from the original on July 9, 2012. Retrieved November 4, 2010.
  16. "Tom Horner talks about his losing race for Governor". Minnesota Public Radio. November 10, 2010. Retrieved November 12, 2010.
  17. Furst, Jay (November 10, 2010). "Horner cost someone the election – was it Emmer or Dayton?". PostBulletin.com. Archived from the original on March 22, 2012. Retrieved May 8, 2011.
  18. Demko, Paul (November 5, 2010). "Emmer loss chalked up to summertime blues". Politics in Minnesota. Retrieved August 4, 2011.
Party political offices
Preceded by
Peter Hutchinson		 Independence nominee for Governor of Minnesota
2010		 Succeeded by
Hannah Nicollet
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