District 61B Candidate Profile: Nathan Blumenshine

Running on a decidedly left-of-center platform, independent candidate Nathan Blumenshine might seem a natural fit for the DFL ticket in Kingfield and South Minneapolis, where he's running to fill the seat in the state House of Representatives vacated by now-Sen. Jeff Hayden.

Even though House District 61B has a long history of support for liberal causes such as single-payer healthcare, abortion access and workers' rights, Blumenshine thinks pursuing those causes at the State Capitol with a DFL label stamped on his back would do more harm than good. That's why he's calling himself the "respect candidate."

Blumenshine, who's volunteered or worked on several DFL campaigns in Minnesota and North Dakota, believes Republicans would be more willing to work with him in the state legislature if he rejected party labels.

"We need to get into the halls of the capitol and we need to start having the conversation that's different than the Democrat-Republican conversation," he said. "(Political rhetoric is) all about taking Minnesota back and taking America back, but from who? It shouldn't be 'us versus them.'"

His "respect for all" message, he adds, will win him points at the ballot box.

"In our generation (18 to 30 year-olds), people have a real distaste for party politics," he said. "People don't know what Democrat means, they don't know what Republican means, but I hope they know what respect means."

Still, Blumenshine acknowledged it will be a long row to hoe to win the general election on Jan. 10 without the support of the district's political powerhouses. As for for endorsements from politicians and groups, he said, "I have very limited expectations, but very high hopes."