Horner claims to not be hostile toward GOP insider bosses, but rather that he is vaguely alienated, (perhaps because there's a queue in the GOP in front of him and his political ambitions). Otherwise, it is unclear why in the world he wants now to be inside of and the endorsed candidate of a different party. Despite protestations, perhaps he has an ax to grind against some; see this link.
Crabgrass past posts mentioning Repya's candidacy to one degree or another, are here and here.
Horner appears to not be a registered lobbyist with the Minnesota Campaign Finance Board, but he is principal in PR firm, Himle Horner Inc; this screenshot suggesting the St. Paul Capitol Dome is integral to his business income:
I have criticized the "currency green" revolving door in the past with regard to Elwyn Tinklenberg and his income producing business Tinklenberg Group, and it appears to me Horner wants to revolve the door in a related fashion. To the best of my knowledge, Repya has no revolving door taint to his candidacy.Again, see this link.
Any hint of a revolving door makes me quite uneasy, although I am far distanced from the IP. Bob Anderson, the IP candidate last cycle for the MN 6 congressional seat in email indicated he is uncommitted between either Horner or Repya, but he has not mentioned any other candidacy, so I infer it will be a two horse race in the party. Bob Anderson knows far more of IP matters than I could even guess at, and I trust his position as reflecting well on each of the two.
So, two Republicans want to become governor via IP orientation. My hope is that both Repya and Horner will go to a primary so that the IP voters, whom I trust more than IP insiders to be fair and balanced, will have a chance to say who carries the banner into the general election. I hold that view even while the IP has abandoned cross endorsement as a thing in its past but not a present factor, so that something like the Tinklenberg - Anderson situation last cycle will not recur. It was the insider IP bosses cross endorsing Tinklenberg, who I regarded as a revolving door lobbyist and not the best the DFL could have offered, (and who had been registered as lobbyist with the CFB), being unable to claim to be both DFL and IP candidate, because Bob Anderson filed and ran.
I applauded and continue to applaud Bob Anderson's 2008 choosing to run as THE candidate of the IP on the general election ballot. I think his step was good for the party, and for its abandoning the abuse-prone cross endorsement tactic.
My interest is in seeing what happens more than favoring either Horner or Repya, which I clearly as a progressive do not do. Yet, I wish citizens had a way of knowing, if the two go to a primary, what effect GOP crossover voting might have.
It is a scientific curiosity, a sociological and political science orientation, rather than ever wanting either of the two to be elected governor.