Rising star Tarryl Clark
In the wake of rumors that she is considering a run, either challenging Rep.Michele Bachmann for congress or doing a gubernatorial run of her own, Minnpost publishes a piece about the DFL’s new headliner.
Don’t worry if you haven’t heard much of Clark. She hardly ranks with the semi-household names like Sviggum and Moe of recent Capitol eras of the past, or even her contemporaries like long-timers Rep. Phyllis Kahn or Sen. Dick Day. Clark has only been in office since late 2005, when she won in a special election and was re-elected in 2006.
But increasingly, Clark is the face of the DFL at the Capitol. Though the party controls both chambers, and House Speaker Margaret Anderson Kelliher and House Majority Leader Tony Sertich are high-profile, Clark often soaks up her share of the spotlight.
Part of that is by design, especially in regard to Senate politics. There, Sen. Larry Pogemiller is the majority leader, but Clark shares many caucus duties in her assistant leader role. And Pogemiller has a reputation for, to put it charitably, an obstinacy that in the past infuriated GOP leaders, Capitol insiders and Pawlenty. And it doesn’t hurt that Clark is a politician from outside the metro area who happens to be a woman. From that perspective, her rising role makes political sense.
But Clark also possesses what many consider an ambition that is notable even by Capitol standards, and a gift for laying down spin with the best of them.
So is she eyeing higher office? All signs point to yes. The question, still, is which one is she running for?
