At a time when misinformation about the 2020 election is rampant, social media is the dominant political arena of the day, and big money is fueling campaigns more than ever, can a candidate sidestep it all and actually win?
What’s more, can you create an entirely new political party around this idea? The 28-year-old grandson of Minnesota’s former governor is putting that idea to the test this campaign cycle, using himself as a guinea pig.
“It’s always lonely at first. I realized at some point you have to take risks,” said Stephan Quie, whose grandfather is former Republican Gov. Al Quie. “I decided to start it now and I’m ready to make mistakes and learn.”
He is running for the state House in northeast Minneapolis as part of the Honesty Pledge Party, which he founded out of the idea that today’s politics is rife with misinformation and that politicians should promise to always tell the truth.
“I believe that Americans, by and large, are disillusioned and often apathetic about politics today, and I believe that is largely due to the lack of integrity that they see from elected officials,” he said. “It’s common to see the sentence: “Well, of course politicians lie, it’s just a given.”
Originally, his idea was to create a pledge that candidates from either party could sign to get the group’s endorsement, but Quie realized that it would be difficult for him to verify that the candidates followed through on the pledge.
He decided to run on his own, and as part of his new party, he’s doing so without creating social media accounts or accepting money from lobbyists or political action committees.
Quie knows that this puts limits on his ability to promote himself. He failed to get the signatures needed to run as a third-party candidate this fall, so he is continuing his efforts as a write-in campaign.
It’s a long shot, but he doesn’t see this election as a win-or-lose situation. He plans to learn from his experience to figure out how to shape the party going forward.
That approach suggests the kind of campaigns his grandfather would have run during his nearly three decades in politics, including four years as governor in the late 1970s and early 1980s. Back then, there was no social media, PAC money hadn’t exploded in elections, and candidates went in person to canvass for votes.
“I’ve seen him have a long career of nurturing character and virtue. It gives me so much hope that it’s possible and it’s not idealistic or unrealistic,” Quie said. “People are drawn to it, and people just need to tell politicians to start this conversation.”
