With Minnesota 3rd District Congressman Dean Phillips in New Hampshire, preparing for that state's primary and a rare challenge of a sitting president, potential candidates are lining up to potentially take his spot in Washington. After announcing his longshot bid to take on President Joe Biden, Phillips said he will not see reelection in the third.
A new but familiar face is considering throwing his hat in the ring for that particular seat, Richard Painter.
Speaking to Chad Hartman on WCCO Radio Wednesday, Painter said he is definitely interested in running, but at this point he's unsure under which party he'd run, and where he could get the money to compete with heavily-funded candidates.
"I'm very seriously thinking about it and am exploring right now whether it's going to be a feasible run," Painter says. "I very much want to do it, I very much want to represent the people of the third congressional district in Washington D.C. But I want to emphasize from the beginning, that what I do not have, what other candidates have in this race, and I did not have in 2018 and again in 2022, and that's money. And that's what this is about, and why I want to run."
In 2018, Painter explored a run for U.S. Senate as a Democrat in Minnesota after Al Franken vacated his seat. Tina Smith eventually won that race. In 2022, Painter ran again as a Democrat for the Minnesota 1st Congressional District in the special election to fill the seat left vacant by Rep. Jim Hagedorn’s death that February. Republican Brad Finstad won that race.
Painter says his biggest issue he wants to take on is the proliferation of money in Minnesota politics. He echoes the thoughts of former Minnesota Governor Arne Carlson in saying monied interests drive too much political power in Minnesota and around the country.
"In both political parties, money is corrupting our political system, and we've seen it here in Minnesota with sulfide mining companies," explains Painter. Far and away, sulfide mining companies and other special interests seek to destroy our waterways in Minnesota, we see many other examples and Minnesota and around the country of how money dictates what happens in St. Paul and in Washington D.C. My message to voters is we have to stop that."
Painter is currently a professor of corporate law at the University of Minnesota. From February 2005 to July 2007, he was associate counsel to the president in the White House Counsel’s office, serving as the chief ethics lawyer for President George W. Bush, White House employees, and senior nominees to Senate-confirmed positions in the executive branch.
He also is an author writing " Getting the Government America Deserves: How Ethics Reform Can Make a Difference" which was released in 2009.
Painter previously identified as a Republican, but has also been outspoken in his criticism of former President Donald Trump and the current state of the Republican Party who he says has abandoned Democracy. He says he is unsure what his options are for party, or if he'll run independently.
"I would very much hope that there's another nominee for president other than Donald Trump, but if the Republican Party nominates him again I don't see how I could run on their ticket," Painter told Hartman. "The Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party has hope for advancing Democracy in this state and in this country. But once again, we need to clean corruption out of both political parties. If the Democrats do not clean their house of corruption and servitude to wealthy contributors, they will lose this Election."
Phillips (DFL) assumed office in 2019, replacing longtime Republicans Erik Paulsen and Jim Ramstad as Representatives of Minnesota's 3rd District which encompasses the suburbs of Hennepin and Anoka counties to the west, south, and north of Minneapolis.
So far, State Senator Kelly Morrison (Deephaven) and Ron Harris, who's never held office before, have announced they are candidates for the DFL Primary. Two more newcomers to holding political office have announced they'll seek the Republican nomination for the seat, Quentin Wittrock and Blaize Harty.