| Of his mustache, Denney, a self-described “liberty-lover,” says: “As a third party candidate you can’t be afraid to pull out all the stops… I’m glad I have your attention, because I have important things to say.” |
Minnesota is indeed home to one major party that supports the legalization of pot, but it isn’t the Republicans or Democrats.
It’s the Independence Party, which is one of just three parties in Minnesota with “major” status, attained when at least one of a party’s candidates for statewide office wins five percent of the vote for four consecutive elections. That means Independence candidates like John Denney, the party’s Sixth District candidate for U.S. Congress, will have the opportunity to share their unique political views during debates with candidates like Republican Tom Emmer and Democrat Joe Perske.
Denney, a 28-year-old graduate of Forest Lake High School, characterizes Emmer as “bought and paid for by special interests.”
“He has to be one of the most well-funded candidates in the state, so I don’t intend to match him dollar for dollar,” Denney says. “I intend to attack him online, through video releases — that is, so long as we have net neutrality, which is a constitutional liberty and is another thing I’m running on.”
This is the first election cycle where legalization of marijuana has been a part of Independence’s platform.
“We have absolutely no shame in saying that we support the legalization of marijuana, however, it isn’t something we intend to ‘run on,'” Denney says. “It’s very much a ‘matter of fact’ position for most of our candidates. I think I speak for most of the millennial generation when I say that this is something of a no-brainer, but I can’t speak for my fellow [Independence] candidates, only myself.”
Read more over at the Minneapolis City Pages.
