Can House Speaker Lisa Demuth Win The Republican Nod?

COLD SPRING (WJON News) -- Minnesota House Speaker Lisa Demuth of Cold Spring has announced she's running for governor. However, before she can face incumbent Democrat Tim Walz in the general election next November, she has to first get the Republican party endorsement. Three other Republicans have also announced they are running, including Representative Kristin Robbins, Kendall Qualls, and Scott Jensen.

Read More: Lisa Demuth Announces Governor Run In Minnesota |

Fluence Media Political Analyst Blois Olson says Demuth is seen as a rising star in the party, but she does face a challenge in the endorsement process.

How do you get through the convention, try to get endorsed, but if you don't get endorsed, how do you save enough money and resources, and line up enough support to try to win a primary, setting you up to be more competitive in the general election?

Olson says there is a faction in the Republican Party called "Action for Liberty," and its members typically attend the endorsing convention.

It is very MAGA, it might be even more MAGA than MAGA, they already pre-announcement labeled Lisa Demuth as a RINO, meaning a Republican in name only.  They will be very critical of her leadership.

Olson says the challenge for all Republican candidates will be how to appeal to conservative delegates while still positioning themselves as mainstream to win over independent voters.

Carleton College political analyst Steven Schier says having served as Minnesota House speaker has its strengths and weaknesses:

"The strength is that she was a pretty effective speaker, given that she didn't even have the majority in one chamber. But the problem is she agreed to a bipartisan budget deal that conservative activists will not be in favor of at the endorsing convention."

Schier thinks Demuth has a better of chance of winning the Republican primary election than securing the G-O-P endorsement.