Krinkie changes his mind, signs GOP primary pledge

04/23/2006

Three other 6th District candidates made ceremonial pact Friday

BY PATRICK SWEENEY
Pioneer Press

State Rep. Phil Krinkie, who refused Friday to make a written promise to honor the Republican endorsement in the 6th Congressional District race, changed his mind Saturday and signed the pledge.

Krinkie, R-Lino Lakes, put his name on the poster-size promise in Buffalo, Minn., where he addressed delegates at a Wright County Republican convention.

The other Republican 6th District candidates — state Sen. Michele Bachmann of Stillwater, Rep. Jim Knoblach of St. Cloud and business executive Jay Esmay, also of St. Cloud — signed the pledge Friday.

Krinkie insisted Friday that he would honor the endorsement and would not seek the Republican nomination in a primary if party activists award the endorsement to one of his opponents May 6. But his refusal to put his promise in writing would have cost him support among delegates, many of which put party loyalty at the top of the demands they make of candidates.

“We now have four candidates, as of two minutes ago, agreeing to abide by the endorsement,” state Republican Chairman Ron Carey announced at the Wright County gathering after Krinkie signed the pledge.

Carey took the ceremonial pledge to a similar convention in St. Cloud earlier Saturday and urged Krinkie to sign it.

“I said, ‘Let’s just get it done so we can end the talk of a primary battle,’ “ Carey said.

The 6th District, which stretches from Afton to St. Cloud around the north edge of St. Paul and Minneapolis, has an open seat because Republican U.S. Rep. Mark Kennedy is running for U.S. Senate.

Patty Wetterling and Elwyn Tinklenberg are battling for the Democratic-Farmer-Labor endorsement in the district.

Krinkie initially declined to sign the pledge in St. Cloud on Saturday morning but then reversed his decision while riding from St. Cloud to Buffalo.

Krinkie did not mention the pledge in his comments to the Wright County delegates. In an interview, he implied he signed the promise as a favor to Carey.

“He asked me three times, so I said, ‘Fine, I’ll sign it,’ “ Krinkie said.

On Friday and again Saturday, Krinkie said with or without his name on a written pledge, he had never intended to take his campaign to the September primary if he loses the Republican endorsement.