Some pundits eye Paulsen/Meffert race as potential DFL pickup
Excerpt:
The New York Times’ political prediction maker Nate Silver has Paulsen the likely favorite, predicting he will finish the race comfortably with 62 percent and Meffert at 35 percent, and the Cook Political Report doesntt see it as a competitive race. It’s not even on their radar.
But the popular election tracking website Electoral-Vote.com rates the race as a pure tossup. According to the site’s author, Andrew S. Tanenbaum, Paulsen should be vulnerable even in a good year for Republicans.
Minn. district's voters could turn right or left
Excerpts:
In the race to succeed retiring Rep. Jim Ramstad (R-Minn.), voters in the affluent Minneapolis suburbs will have a clear choice between two starkly different candidates.
On the one side, there is Republican state Rep. Erik Paulsen, a 13-year legislative veteran and former majority leader who has served in the Minnesota House since he was 30 years old.
On the other is Democrat Ashwin Madia, a political newcomer whose officeholding experience is limited to his service as student body president at the University of Minnesota.
A 30-year-old lawyer, Madia served in Iraq for six months as a Marine Corps attorney.
...
“I’m a moderate Democrat who’s got a military background, who wants to end the war in Iraq responsibly and balance the budget,” said Madia. “I think that’s going to appeal to a lot of the fiscally responsible and socially moderate people that form the bedrock of my district.”
Comment: My congressional district. Madia's statement (last sentence) accurately portrays this district.
Paulsen Formally Announces U.S. House Campaign
Excerpt:
State Rep. Erik Paulsen formally announced his candidacy for the U.S. House of Representatives on Sunday.
The Republican from Eden Prairie is running for the 3rd District seat currently held by his political mentor, U.S. Rep. Jim Ramstad, R-Minn., who plans to retire when his term ends at the end of the year.
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Paulsen, so far the only Republican in the race, has served seven terms in the Minnesota House, where he led the GOP majority from 2002 to until the Democrats took over after the 2006 elections. He is a project manager for a Fortune 100 Company, and he and his wife, Kelly, have four daughters.
Three Democrats are also in the race: state Sen. Terri Bonoff of Minnetonka, Edina Mayor Jim Hovland and attorney J. Ashwin Madia, an Iraq war veteran. Businessman David Dillon of Brooklyn Park is running as an Independence Party candidate.
Comment: My congressional district
Republicans ask Ramstad to stay, but he says no
Excerpts:
Political observers note that while Ramstad's third congressional district in the Twin Cities' western suburbs has historically leaned Republican, a Ramstad decision to postpone his retirement could save the cash-strapped GOP campaign committee as much as $1 million to defend the seat, a factor that could be huge in a tough presidential election year.
"With Jim Ramstad out of the race, it will be a competitive district, and probably a seven-figure race on each side," said former Minnesota Congressman Vin Weber, a prominent GOP strategist and lobbyist in Washington. "With Jim in it, it's a put-down hand for the Republicans."
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Rep. Terri Bonoff, DFL-Minnetonka, is the leading DFL candidate, although Edina Mayor John Hovland, a moderate Republican who recently switched parties, said he is considering a run as a DFLer.
.....
But Paulsen or any other Republican is likely in for a tough fight, one that many observers say the Republicans can ill afford. "It's a pitched battle," Schier said. "And with Jim, there's no pitched battle. So I'm sure they [party leaders] are putting a lot of effort into changing his mind.
Wikipedia: Minnesota's 3rd Congressional District
All CFG posts on the 3rd District
Comment: I predict a tight, competitive race. It will be interesting to watch and participate in!
Edina mayor may run for Congress ... as a DFLer - Jim Hovland, who's eyeing Ramstad's seat, says the GOP has moved too far right
Excerpt:
Edina Mayor Jim Hovland is a good example of the conflicted and wide-open political nature of the metro area's western suburbs.
A longtime Republican, he is not shy about expressing frustration over what he sees as the extreme nature of the Republican Party these days, calling it "a marching progression to a more consolidated base and a smaller party."
He supports abortion rights and mass transit. He's also thinking about running to replace Republican U.S. Rep. Jim Ramstad, who announced his retirement after nine terms.
And if Hovland runs, he'll run as a DFLer. Hovland said Friday that he had switched parties.
Earlier CFG: DFL Sen. Terri Bonoff to run for Ramstad seat
Who will run as the Republican?
State legislators to run for Ramstad's seat in U.S. House
Excerpt:
Two of Minnesota's suburban congressional races are about to get more crowded.
In the wide-open Third District, where Republican incumbent Jim Ramstad is retiring, two state legislators are laying the groundwork to run for a seat that has attracted the attention of a wide range of potential candidates.
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DFL Sen. Terri Bonoff said she plans to formally announce her campaign in mid-October, after she files a federal campaign finance report that reflects her fundraising in late September.
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Bonoff, a former business executive, won a special election two years ago in a Plymouth-Minnetonka district that had been held by Republicans, and was re-elected last year in a close vote.
Comment: This seat is vulnerable for the Republicans because Ramstad is a moderate Republican and Bonoff is (in my opinion) fiscally conservative! She's dynamic and would be a good congress woman!
I was very impressed that State Senator Terri Bonoff would return my call after I left a message for her today.
Senator Bonoff and her office do a great job of regularly communicating with her constituency. I appreciate her for that and also for seeking to govern from "the middle". While I am a registered Republican, Senator Bonoff is a fine Senator.
Thank you Senator Bonoff for your hard work for District 43!
Senator Terri Bonoff
Senator Terri Bonoff (MN Senate site)
