Minnesota – from www.sctimes.com – State Sen. Paul Koering isn’t done with politics after all.

Koering’s re-election bid — and political career — appeared over in August after he lost the Republican primary to former state Rep. Paul Gazelka. Both Gazelka and candidate Steve Park describe themselves as tea party candidates.

But Koering now says he’s running a write-in campaign in Senate District 12 after getting “hundreds and hundreds” of calls and e-mails encouraging him to do so.

Koering, who has represented District 12 for eight years, acknowledges his write-in bid is “an extreme uphill battle.”

But he registered last week with the Minnesota Secretary of State’s office as a write-in candidate, a move that allows votes for him to be counted.

Koering said he’ll actively campaign and raise funds in the race, though his name won’t be on the ballot.

After his August primary loss, Koering expressed relief that his political career appeared over. The bitter primary campaign saw the openly gay Koering face scrutiny for a date in Brainerd with a male porn star.

But Koering says an “overwhelming show of support from many friends and acquaintances” spurred him to re-enter the fray. The support often came when he was running errands near his Fort Ripley home, Koering told the Times.

“Wherever I went, people were telling me they were going to write my name in,” Koering said.

Koering represents Senate District 12, which covers Morrison and Crow Wing counties. Taylor Stevenson is the DFL candidate in District 12, and Steve Park is running as a Constitution Party candidate.

After the primary, Koering endorsed Stevenson for the seat, saying he couldn’t support Gazelka.

Koering said Sunday that he stills believes Stevenson is “a nice guy” who’s run a positive campaign. But Koering says his experience in the Senate makes him the best choice for voters.

Stevenson told the Times Sunday that “it’s Paul’s right to do whatever it is he wants to do.”

“It was nice to have his endorsement while I had it,” Stevenson said. “Does (losing) it bother me? No.”

Koering said in August that he’s no longer a Republican, citing what he called a recent “purification process” for Republicans who don’t adhere to all the party’s positions.

Koering said Sunday that he considers himself independent. When asked which party he would caucus with if re-elected, Koering said there’s “a pretty good chance” he’d caucus with the Senate’s majority party. DFLers have controlled the Minnesota Senate for more than 30 years.

“If this turns out successfully,” Koering said, “I’m going to determine where my caucusing could best help the people that I represent here.”

Back story: If California State Sen. Roy Ashburn can hit the gay bars in Sacramento, can’t Minnesota State Sen. Paul Koering take gay porn stars out on dates?

Koering is the openly gay Republican who once wanted to be governor — and while he voted against state constitutional bans on marriage and civil unions for gays, it’s not like he was really pushing to legalize it either; in 2009, he voted against legalizing gay marriage.

But there he was trying to woo porn star and former escort Brandon Wilde over dinner at the restaurant Iven’s On The Bay in Brainerd — for which the senator makes no apologies, he tells The Sword.

Wilde first tweeted about his night with Koering on Sunday evening, writing, “lol so funny!! in 45 mins im going 2 dinner with the senator :).” The senator, Koering, picked Wilde up and took him to Iven’s on the Bay restaurant in Brainerd, where they dined on strip steak and beef medallions. In an exclusive interview with The Sword this morning, Koering was unapologetic: “I don’t see anything wrong with going out with him. Do I think that being a porn star is the best thing? No. But that’s his choice. I think he’s a nice guy.”

The Sword spoke to Wilde, too, who revealed that his date with Koering was casual, yet awkward: “I think he wanted to get in my pants, truthfully. And he was pretty flirty. But it was just dinner. We both were checking out the waiter though. It was fun.”

Koering says that while he doesn’t approve of Wilde’s career choice, he would like a second date. Which is funny, because we don’t approve of Koering’s career choice — porn is less devious than politics any day.

And for the record, Koering only paid for dinner. Not Wilde’s time. Even though until very recently, Wilde maintained a profile on Rentboy.com. He must know Jo-Vanni Roman, then? From the meetings?