ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — The Independence Party of Minnesota is aiming to harness the dismay of "Never Trump" Republicans and ride back to political relevance.
The party lost its major status in Minnesota in 2014, its second consecutive election in which all of its statewide candidates failed to get at least 5 percent of the vote. That loss marked the precipitous drop from its peak in 1998, when Jesse Ventura won the gubernatorial election in a come-from-behind shocker.
But the party has endorsed Evan McMullin for president and recently secured a spot on the Minnesota. He's a former CIA operative and Republican whose third-party campaign offers a conservative alternative to Republican nominee Donald Trump.
Party chairman Phil Fuehrer says regaining major-party status is in the cards with McMullin on the ticket.
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