Is the DCCC looking to mount a challenge to Ramstad?

Posted at 10:58 AM on May 11, 2007 by Tom Scheck

Politics in Minnesota says so. We can't link to their newsletter but can paste their info here:

DCCC Looks To MN-03

The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) has been candidate shopping in Minnesota's Third Congressional District, currently occupied by Republican Congressman Jim Ramstad. In previous years, the DCCC never gave the district much attention because Ramstad had built a moderate-conservative voting record and the western metro district leaned heavily to the GOP in local and statewide elections.

But things have changed. national Democrats are looking to build on their majority in the U.S. House. With their top-tier candidate in the Sixth Congressional District, former MnDOT Commissioner El Tinklenberg, dropping out, the national party is looking to the next prime opportunity. Since Minnesota is poised to lose one congressional seat in the 2012 redistricting, national and state Democrats know they need to win one suburban seat to maintain their five seats in the state.

The district has been trending purple in recent elections. Last year, Senator Amy Klobuchar (DFL) won there with more than 55% of the vote. Presidential candidates Al Gore and John Kerry came within four and three points of George Bush. By a margin of 6-5, the district has more DFL state senators and there are an even number of DFL and GOP state representatives. These numbers should be encouraging for any potential congressional candidates.

Also encouraging should be Ramstad's record. Ramstad has been in Congress since 1990 and previously served in the state senate from 1980-1990. That's a 28-year voting record to comb through. That's thousands of votes that could come back to haunt him, like his 1995 vote to abolish the U.S. Department of Education. And let's not forget his votes to continue the unpopular Iraq War.

We know that '06 Hennepin County Attorney candidate Andy Luger is interested in running. But national Democrats are looking for a candidate who can raise the two to three million dollars to run a successful campaign. The DCCC has been quietly talking to several current and former state lawmakers, business executives and local government officials. Our understanding is that some of those talks have been fruitful.

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