For IP and Greens, Major-Party Status In Minnesota At Stake

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — For Minnesota's Independence and Green parties, the goal this Election Day isn't so much winning. It's nailing down major-party status.

The IP wants to keep it. The Green Party wants to get it back.

The distinction matters. Major parties get election judges and challengers in polling places. Major-party candidates don't have to go file nominating petitions to be on the general election ballot. And their candidates get far more exposure — Jesse Ventura was elected governor in 1998 from the Reform Party.

The Independence Party needs a statewide candidate to get at least 5 percent or they revert to minor status. The Green Party is hoping former Democratic state Rep. Andy Dawkins gets 5 percent in the attorney general race to make them a major party again.