Minnesota's Independence Party Meets In St. Cloud

ST. CLOUD, Minn. (AP) — Members of Minnesota's third major political party are gathering in St. Cloud for a yearly convention.

The Independence Party meet-up is on Saturday at St. Cloud State University. Chief on the meeting's agenda is a contested race for party chairman.

The Independence Party has enjoyed major-party status in Minnesota since its origins during the political career of former governor Jesse Ventura. The party has fielded a number of statewide and congressional candidates in recent years but none have mustered more than 20 percent of the vote. In 2010, the party's candidate for governor Tom Horner got about 12 percent.

Independence Party officials have said they hope to field a serious candidate for governor next year, but no definite candidates have come forward.

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