I thought the party Ventura ran on in 1998 was dead for years? Ventura ran under the banner of Ross Perot's Reform Party, resulting in their biggest "win" ever, as they had never won a statewide office before, let alone a governship. But the Reform Party itself imploded about 2 years later during Pat Buchanan's movement hijacking it for HIS presidential campaign and then abandoning it after the damage was done. (ironically, Buchanan's sucky third-party bid helped us in the long run!)
As I recall, Ventura announced he was leaving the Reform Party either shortly before or after those events, and disaffiliated with the national party. He went back to the Minnesota "Independence" Party, but they were a Minnesota-only based third party, and did not have nearly the resources, name ID, or "star power" that Perot's group had.
Ventura did manage to appoint a member of "his" party to the Senate due to the Wellstone's death, but that guy was just a seat warmer for a few months and Ventura only did it as a middle finger to the RATs after the disgraceful "we will win!" chants at the Wellstone Funerally.
Ventura seems ideologically to be more of a "moderate" libertarian with some deranged conspiracy theory beliefs mixed in, but he's shown no interest in joining the Libertarians and they probably wouldn't take him because they're obsessed with running on "Legalize Dope!!!!" and getting the pothead vote, instead of talking about issues people actually care about like ending the Dept. of Education.
I really don't think Ventura-type politics in Minnesota lasted too long after his one-term governorship. Reminds me of Ariel Sharon's creepy "Kadima" Party in Israel that pretty much died the same time he did (despite predictions that Israel was now a "three party system" and that the party would outlive Sharon for many decades)
Excuse me, should’ve clarified that. He did run and win on Perot’s Reform Party banner, but then associated with the IPM (MN Ind. Party). Although that party technically was in existence since 1992, it was effectively supplanted when Ventura moved into it (so it was virtually a “new” party with Ventura as its head), but I was referring to the IPM and not the defunct Reform.
I noticed the IPM also cost Sen. Rod Grams in 2000. Their candidate took more than the margin between Grams and Mark Dayton. Grams wouldn’t have likely won in 2006, but had he won reelection in 2000, it would’ve altered the dynamics because of Judas Jeffords’ switch.
Ventura’s Senate appointee, Dean Barkley, had been a leader in the IPM/Reform pre-Ventura and a prior Senate candidate (1994 & 1996).
Ultimately, there was a bit of an overlap between the two parties and how they were founded that gets a bit confusing. Wikipedia’s entry does a better job of breaking it down.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Independence_Party_of_Minnesota
But it is clear that it has done more to help Democrats score plurality wins in key races since 2000 despite ostensibly being a “fiscal Conservative” party. You could even add Egg McMuffin to the equation, since they gave him their line (and lo and behold, he got more than the difference between Trump and Hillary).