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NCEC Candidate Center - Minnesota

Minnesota

Presidential caucuses: Tuesday, February 5, 2008 (GOP / likely Democrats)
Presidential caucuses: Tuesday, March 4, 2008 (Democrats)
Congressional filing deadline: July 15, 2008
Congressional primary: Tuesday, September 9, 2008

President (10 Electoral Votes)

The state of Minnesota has not voted for the GOP in a presidential election since 1972, but its races are generally competitive. In 2004, John Kerry won the state by less than 4 percent. In 2000, Al Gore won by a mere 2 percent. Democratic leanings suggests that the Democrats should win Minnesota's nine electoral votes in 2008. If the Democrats were to lose Minnesota, Republicans likely would be on their way to an easy victory.

U.S. Senate - Norm Coleman (Rep)

Minnesota leans Democratic in every statewide election, but Senator Coleman has been able to forge a niche as a Republican with a moderate voting record, but his support of the war in Iraq is a dangerous position for him. Coleman’s approval and favorability ratings have consistently hovered at or below 50 percent, which is a sign of an incumbent in danger. Comedian/writer Al Franken is a lock for the nomination, as attorney Mike Ciresi recently quit the race.

This figures to be a very close race, but Democrats should feel confident given their advantage in hte state in statewide elections. A March 11-18 Rasmussen Reports poll put the race in a statisitcal tie with Coleman holding a small lead (48%-46%) which is within the margin of error.

Norm Coleman (Rep) - Incumbent
Joe Repya (Rep) - Retired Army Officer and Iraq War Veteran
Peter Agre (DFL) - Chemist, University Vice Chancellor and Nobel Prize Winner
Jim Cohen (DFL) - Attorney and Environmental Activist
Al Franken (DFL) - Comic, Radio Talk Show Host, Author and Democratic Activist
Dick Franson (DFL) - Former Minneapolis Alderman, Army Veteran and frequent candidate
Jack Nelson-Pallmeyer (DFL) - College Professor, Peace Activist and 2006 Congressional Candidate
James Broom Wellstone (Independence) - Political gadfly James McBroom legally changed his name to "James Broom Wellstone." He is no relation to former Senator Paul Wellstone.

1st District - Tim Walz (Dem)

South and southeast corner, Rochester

Tim Walz (DFL) - Incumbent
Greg Davids (Rep) - Former State Representative
Brian Davis (Rep) - Physician
Dick Day (Rep) - State Senator, Retired Businessman and Navy Veteran
Randy Demmer (Rep) - State Representative and Businessman
Dan Dorman (Rep) - Former State Representative
Mark Meyer (Rep) - Lake Crystal School Board Member and Employee Benefits Consultant
Carol Molnau (Rep) - Lieutenant Governor, Former State Representative and Farmer
Julie Rosen (Rep) - State Senator
Dave Senjam (Rep) - State Senator
John Wade (Rep) - Businessman and Rochester Area Chamber of Commerce President

2nd District - John Kline (Rep)

Suburban Twin Cities

John Kline (Rep) - Incumbent
Sharon Marko (DFL) - Former State Senate
Steve Sarvi (DFL) - Former Watertown Mayor, Former City Administrator and Iraq War Veteran

3rd District - Jim Ramstad (Rep)

East central, western Twin Cities suburbs

Republican incumbent Jim Ramstad is retiring at the end of his current term, which creates an open seat contest in this district. With no incumbent running this district becomes very competitive and is looked at as a 50/50 district. In 2004, President Bush received just 51 percent of the vote, which is strong evidence to suggest that it will be very much in play in 2008. In 2006, Democrat Amy Klobuchar beat out Republican Mark Kennedy by 15 percent in Minnesota's senate race, but the district went to the Republican in the gubernatorial race. Ramstad remained in the seat because of his strong centrist views, he supported President Bush far less-frequently than other Republicans. The GOP will need to find another moderate candidate if they hope to keep this seat. This district is the most affluent and highly educated in Minnesota, sporting moderate views on social issues. Ramstad's retirement comes as another blow to GOP election prospects as the party will now be forced to spend a lot of money to protect this formally safe district.

The Minnesota Republican party recently endorsed state representative Erik Paulsen. The Democratic party in Minnesota, also known as the DFL, chose lawyer Ashwin Madia, a onetime Republican who began his campaign after serving in Iraq with the Marines. Madia said he will appeal to independents and moderate Republicans.

Jim Ramstad (Rep) - Incumbent

4th District - Betty McCollum (Dem)

East, St. Paul and suburbs

Betty McCollum (DFL) - Incumbent

5th District - Keith Ellison (Dem)

East, Minneapolis and suburbs

Keith Ellison (DFL) - Incumbent

6th District - Michele Bachmann (Rep)

East, eastern and southern Twin Cities suburbs

Republican Michelle Bachmann cruised to victory by a wider margin than most expected in 2006. Democratic candidate Patty Wetterling received just 42.1 percent of the vote in a district that had been considered vulnerable. Independent candidate John Paul Binkowski won 7 percent of the vote, which theoretically cost Wetterling some votes, but that amount would not have made up the deficit. The sixth district is one of Minnesota's three suburban districts, and has seen a large amount of development in areas northwest of St. Cloud. Increased Democratic performace in developing suburban areas played a large role in the success of the 2006 election cycle; 16 of the 31 captured seats in the House came from suburban or exurban areas.

On October 2, former state transportation commissioner Elwyn Tinkleberg announced his candidacy for the Democratic nomination to challenge Bachmann. Tinkleberg ran for the nomination in 2006, but he lost to Patty Wetterling in the primary.

Michele Bachmann (Rep) - Incumbent
Bob Hill (DFL) - Attorney
Bob Olson (DFL) - Attorney, Banker and 1994 Congressional Nominee
Dean Barkley (Independence) - Former US Senator, Attorney and Campaign Manager