Populism Won the Endorsement

How a movement led by a plethora of grassroots moms won Dr. Scott Jensen the GOP endorsement for governor at the Minnesota state convention

Early this year before caucus I made a compelling case that “we the people” had to take back our cities, our districts, our states and our country. My idea was to compel everyday Americans to get involved and become active participants in the democratic process. This idea that “we the people” could mobilize collectively to refresh, rejuvenate, and reestablish the Republican Party that I believed was necessary to change the political landscape. Well it happened and the meteoric rise of a former state senator, Scott Jensen, became the Republican endorsement because of it. How was his campaign populism in action? Because he stood the breach when no one else dared against the COVID lockdowns, mandates and the oppressive CDC guidelines. Because of the aforementioned he had groups of individuals who propelled him from a retiring senator to a gubernatorial candidate, this movement was led mostly by females, and more specifically a group of moms.

I personally was a skeptic of Jensen. When I looked at his past voting history I was unimpressed with his marginal conservatism. I saw his response to COVID and appreciated his bravery; but I was not confident that he would stand behind paleo conservatism in the manner I deemed worthy to be the governor of Minnesota. Yet the more I watched his campaign and his overall energy I became impressed. I talked with many of his close supporters and was surprised how many were brand new to the political process. Most had never been elected state delegates or had served in any capacity of elected body politics. The same message started being regurgitated me over and over from various individuals in summary the message was: “he fought for us, he stood up for us, he wanted to be a voice for us”. The majority of these individuals were moms. When I reference moms I mean women who still have children living in their homes. Moms whose families were impacted by: the COVID lockdowns, their children being required to wear masks for almost 2 years, and moms who felt like their families medical freedoms were being infringed upon by draconian government mandates. This demographic was intensely loyal to Jensen and was all in on him being the gubernatorial candidate. Most of Jensens donations, much of his campaign team, many of his event coordinators were all for the most part in the same demographic that could be quantified in one word in the plural form: moms.

Populism is really the route to victory moving forward for the foreseeable future. In this social media drive age where information is at our finger tips it has become more difficult for the donor class to manufacture politicians and their campaigns. The process has become more populist driven especially since our key institutions are no longer trusted. The angst toward oligarchs and fiefdoms has become popular and individuals are more apt to reconsider the information they receive from corporate media. At the state convention of the 2200 elected state delegates 55% were there for the first time. If a candidate is not an organic grassroots candidate it is becoming more difficult to establish with the populist that a candidacy is grounded in authenticity.

So after a long drawn out battle for endorsement on Saturday, Scott Jensen was able to come away with the Republican endorsement. His candidacy boiled down to one key issue in my opinion: fighting for the individual over the governments mandates. That issue started his campaign and eventually was a key message toward his endorsement because of his base. Jensen was able to garner that energetic mom vote, the outsider vote who appreciated his grassroots campaign, and even the vote of his fellow populist competitor Mike Murphy whom got behind Jensen and urged his delegates to do likewise. Jensen will have to convince more outsiders to get on board with his campaign and continue to attempt to bring in the independent vote that Minnesota political candidates, in both the DFL and GOP, lean on for victory. Jensen can never forget what group got his campaign kick started, what group of votes that got him across the finish line, and what group will give his campaign the necessary energy to win the governorship. This group are the moms of Minnesota.

Populism in a candidate doesn’t alway look like Donald Trump, in this case it was a state senator standing for what he believed to be true and gaining a following because of it. A grassroots populist movement that is necessary for victory in 2022.