Who's next after Sabo?

Posted at 3:56 PM on March 17, 2006 by Bob Collins (3 Comments)

OK, let's try to sort this out.

According to the Star Tribune, Martin Sabo is retiring. I heard this rumor this afternoon after it leaked from the Strib and my first reaction was, "a good DFLer wouldn't give the rest of the field such little time to organize." Then I remembered who his chief of staff is. Mike Erlandson, who stepped down as head of the DFL Party in Minnesota last year. Theoretically, it's possible Erlandson got a heads-up, but I'd also think putting a campaign together -- especially in the DFL -- in anticipation of the announcement -- is pretty hard to do under the radar.

Given the other names that come up, makes me think the real winner in last November's city election in Minneapolis, was Peter McLaughlin, now fairly unencumbered to make a bid, whereas R.T. Rybak, who has been speculated about as a guy with higher aspirations, would have an impossible time chucking his gig for the fairly safe DFL congressional seat.

We'll see.

So, what does Larry Jacobs figure is going on? He was just on All Things Considered and I lifted a little piece for you. (RealPlayer).

And, if nothing else, at least I got a couple of TO DOs off my list today, setting up Campaign 2006 pages for Jack Nelson-Pallmeyer, and Jay Pond. Something tells me I'll be working this weekend setting up more.

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Comments (3)

Wow, this race must be like manna from heaven for a political reporter.

I don’t understand why Olin Moore predicts that this race will be one of the most expensive in recent history.

IF it goes to the primary, it will no doubt cost mucho dinero. However, don’t most folks think the race will largely be decided at the 5th district convention? How much money can one spend, in a little over a month, convincing just a few thousand delegates to nominate you?

Is money really going to be a big factor in this race vis-à-vis who has the best political network among DFL activists? Will folks promise to abide by the endorsement? Could the convention end in a deadlock?

Posted by Noah | March 18, 2006 3:47 PM

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Does Mike Ciresi live in the 5th Congressional District? Wouldn't he be able to organize and fund a campaign on short order.

He also has the benefit of being a known quantity, including the guts and resources to handle going to
Washington, thus avoiding the afflictions befalling both our current Senators.

Posted by Dave Porter | March 20, 2006 5:17 AM

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A lot of folks think Ciresi commited political suicide weeks ago when he decided not to run for Senate, in part, because he didn't think one person could make a difference in that environment. That's not something you ever say if you ever want to win an election.

Posted by Bob Collins | March 20, 2006 8:01 AM

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