Klobuchar picks up third GOP challenger

Sen. Amy Klobuchar picked up a third Republican challenger on Tuesday as St. Paul native Anthony Hernandez threw his hat in the ring for the Republican nomination.

Hernandez joins former legislator Dan Severson and St. Bonafacius City Council member Joe Arwood. Hernandez said his platform includes bringing “moral principles” to government and praised Herman Cain’s 999 tax plan.

“I do not feel comfortable, given the course that we are on, handing to furute generations the current country that we have now,” he said at a press conference Tuesday. “We must restore a political system of moral principle back in America.”

He said “individual life and family” are the the most crucial units of society.

He called for term limits, an amendment to the U.S. Constitution mandating Congress pass a budget, a repeal of health care reform, an end to “unconstitutional wars” and tax reform.

“I like the idea of Herman Cain’s 9-9-9 plan,” he said. “Is it perfect? No, but it’s a start.”

Hernandez last ran for office in one of St. Paul’s Senate districts in 2010, losing to DFL Sen. Dick Cohen.

He’s also the Minnesota chairman of Somos Republicans, a Latino Republican group.

On state issues, Hernandez supports a constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage.

“In 2012, Minnesota voters will decide whether to amend the state constitution to define marriage as between one man and one woman,” he wrote on his campaign website. “I believe that government should have a very limited role in marriage. As a result, I support the referendum in that I believe it is best for the people of Minnesota, rather than politicians or activist judges, to decide this important cultural issue.”

He’s also an opponent of abortion rights.

“The right to life is a core principle described both within the Declaration of Independence and the United States Constitution,” he says. “As your U.S. Senator, I will work to protect the natural right to life from conception until natural death.”