I am note sure what to make of this story just yet but we need to keep an eye on this and find out what his position is on illegal immigration. I think when he was Governor he was an Independent. Norm Coleman is an amnesty advocate.

Ventura Complicates Minn. Senate Race

UPDATE 11:55 AM: Ventura is now denying, sort of, that he will run for Senate. He tells the Associated Press he was only speaking hypothetically when he told NPR why he would run for the seat. "I gave [the NPR reporter] the reasons why I would run. But I said ultimately, it will come down to whether I want to change my lifestyle and go to that lifestyle or not," Ventura said.

Of course, Ventura did tell NPR, "I run because it angers me," not "if I run, it will be because..." And he asked Minnesotans to decide which of the three candidates they'd want with them in a dark alley, though presumably he could ask voters that same question outside the context of a Senate race. Ventura says he will reveal his final decision -- the real one, not the hypothetical one -- by next Tuesday's filing deadline.

ORIGINAL POST: Minnesota's Senate race was already one of the most entertaining contests of the cycle, as Sen. Norm Coleman (R) attempted to win reelection against controversy-prone humorist Al Franken (D) in a state that is trending blue even as it prepares to host the GOP convention in September. Now the race has a new injection of star power, as former governor and professional wrestler Jesse Ventura plans to jump into the ring as an Independent.

Ventura, who had resisted past entreaties from the media to reveal his plans, said in an interview aired on National Public Radio this morning that he would run not as a publicity stunt but because of Coleman's votes in favor of going to war in Iraq.

"That's the reason I run, not to sell books," Ventura said. "I run because it angers me."

The former World Wrestling Federation star sounds ready for a fight. Literally.

"All you Minnesotans take a good hard look at all three of us. If you were in a dark alley, which one of the three of us would you want with you?" Ventura said.

Ventura's entry could spell trouble for both existing candidates, though it's not clear whether it would actually change the outcome. A poll conducted by SurveyUSA in June showed Coleman beating Franken 52-40 without Ventura in the race. With the former governor, the result was 41 percent for Coleman, 31 for Franken and 23 for Ventura.

But Ventura has shocked the political world before, winning the governor's race in 1998 over Coleman, then the mayor of St. Paul, and state Attorney General Hubert Humphrey III, when few expected him to succeed. "I think Ventura could well win," Laurence Jacobs, a University of Minnesota political scientist, told NPR.

http://blog.washingtonpost.com/capitol-briefing/