Biereland Senate Primary Turns Nasty

Biereland Nationalists deeply divided over increasingly bitter primary


BROOKINGS, BIERELAND--The deeply divisive Nationalist senate primary in Biereland is putting one senator on the attack and another on the defensive.

Incumbent Sen. Michael Kreighorn, who won a special election in December 2008, is facing a primary challenge from former Brookings Mayor Steve Pottomeaux. Now Kreighorn, a moderate, is accusing a fellow Biereland senator, Conservative-turned-Nationalist Steve Kolotano, of secretly recruiting the more liberal Pottomeaux to challenge him in the primary election.

In a debate Tursday night in Cedarie, Kreighorn accused Kolotano, who is also head of the Nationalist Senate Campaign Organization (NSCO), which is in charge of the party's Senate election strategy, of going behind his back and recruiting Pottomeaux.

"I'd like to say to Steve Kolotano: if you're not happy with me and my voting record, then talk to me in person. Don't go behind my back and secretly recruit someone to run against me. And especially don't lie about it afterwards and say you had nothing to do with it," Kreighorn said.

Pottomeaux responded, saying he made the decision to run on his own will.

"The decision to run for the Senate was my decision, Mr. Kreighorn, and I made that decision because I see a lack of leadership on your part. Steve Kolotano had nothing to do with this," Pottomeaux said.

Tuesday's debate was not the first time Kreighorn accused Kolotano and Pottomeaux of back-room deal-making. Throughout the campaign, the incumbent senator has dropped accusations.

"They don't like me. They're not happy with my voting record because they think I'm too moderate. So Steve Kolotano and some other Nationalist leaders went out and met with Steve Pottomeaux and asked him, begged him, to run against me and knock me out of the race," Kreighorn told a crowd at a campaign rally in March.

From the beginning, Kolotano has denied the accusations, saying he and Pottomeaux never met to discuss the race.

However, less than two weeks ago, the Kreighorn campaign presented leaked phone records from Kolotano's office, showing the senator had 17 calls to and from Steve Pottomeaux's home and office.

Documents made public by the Biereland Nationalist Party also show Kolotano met with Pottomeaux seven times over a period of four months, before Pottomeaux announced his candidacy.

Last Friday, Kolotano justified the calls and visits as "a friendship thing."

"Steve Pottomeaux and I are friends, and we talk regularly and meet regularly to discuss our personal lives and politics in general," Kolotano told the Greene Mountain Press. "Not once did I specifically ask him to run against Michael Kreighorn, or assure him he would have the party's support. I would never turn on a fellow Nationalist and I would never lie about that," Kolotano said while walking out of his Brookings office.

Regarding the accusations from Kreighorn, Kolotano called them "completely false" and "a misunderstanding."

"I think this is an emotional race, and Senator Kreighorn, who I consider a friend, is misinterpreting the facts. He's convinced that some sinister deal took place and the fact is it just didn't happen. And I hope that he accepts that and that this race can continue to take place in a cordial, respectful manner," Kolotano told the GMP.

Both campaigns followed up Thursday. Steve Pottomeaux's campaign released the following statement:

"Michael Kreighorn's vicious accusations and attacks on Steve Pottomeaux and Senator Kolotano are completely false and untrue, and have no place in this campaign. Michael Kreighorn should apologize to both Steve Pottomeaux and Senator Kolotano and publicly denounce his campaign's tactics."

The Kreighorn campaign refused to apologize and released this statement in response:

"As each day goes by, it becomes more apparent that Steve Kolotano recruited Steve Pottomeaux to challenge Senator Kreighorn in the primary election. What's worse is the evidence continues to point to a back room, secret deal made behind the back of Senator Kreighorn, and the many lies that were made to cover it up. Fortunately, the good people of Biereland will see what is going on in the Pottomeaux campaign, and will reject his kind of dirty politics. The people of Biereland want an honest senator, not someone who plots behind a fellow Nationalist's back."

The Nationalist Senate Campaign Organization (NSCO) office had no comment on the matter.