In 1988, Boll allied early on with U.S. Senator Paul Simon in his bid for the presidency, serving as state coordinator for the campaign and arranging for visits by the senator to Minnesota and South Dakota, including a stop in Boll's home town of Worthington.
Boll ran for party secretary of the Minnesota DFL in 1989, but was defeated by party activist Rick Stafford, who went on to become the state party chair just two years later.