Ramstad to retire

Posted at 11:38 AM on September 17, 2007 by Bob Collins (11 Comments)

(Update 3:13 p.m.: Ramstad announces retirement.

(Updated 12:24 p.m.: Tom Scheck's GOP source and one of my DFL sources have now both confirmed that Jim Ramstad is announcing his retirement at 3 p.m.)

Jim Ramstad has scheduled a 3 p.m. announcement for today. He describes it as a major announcement for his future.

So ... what are the possibilities?

* Announces intention to run for U.S. Senate -- Not bloody likely
* Announces intention to run for governor -- Three years ahead of time? Nah.
* Announces his retirement from Congress
* Announces he's leaving the Republican Party (remember: some of the heavy hitters mediawise called him a "bedwetter").
* Announces he's running for re-election. I don't recall him calling a "major announcement" news conference before, so it's unlikely that's the point here.

I've called my usual suspects and one has claimed to know that Ramstad is retiring. But it's by no means confirmed.

Let the speculation begin!

If the seat is coming open, it'll be hard over the next week to keep track of all the announcements.

The DFL has not put up serious candidates against Ramstad in years. So who might consider getting in? Without any information at all, here's one I'll toss out: Andrew Borene. Borene was running for the Senate 41 District seat in 2006 and was considered one of the rising DFL stars (that means he's a military veteran AND a member of the DFL Party), until he had a domestic assault incident, after which he said he would undergo treatment for alcoholism.

For the GOP? Here's the Votetracker list of current office-holders. Check the Districts in the 40s. There are a ton of good lawmakers there on both sides of the aisle who would make attractive candidates.

(Update 12:46 - MNPublius has some candidate speculation.)

This race will scare the Republicans. Legislative seats have turned over in the district in recent years and the hard-core Republicans might not rally around the -- OK, I'll say it again -- "bedwetter" positions (that is, a moderate old-style Republican) that the District favors.

For more on this, check out Truth vs. the Machine, where Gary Miller writes...

Jim Ramstad is the embodiment of everything I loathe about RINOs. He’s a SOB. But he’s OUR SOB and losing Ramstad would almost certainly mean losing this “first ring” seat. Congressional majorities are comprised of true believers and heretics. Congressman Ramstad is a card-carrying member of the latter but his departure would make it that much more difficult to regain the Speaker’s gavel in the next few election cycles.

FMI

Going Deep with Rep. Jim Ramstad and His Critics on the Iraq War (Twin Cities Daily Planet - 8/20/07)

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Comments (11)

I can't imagine it being anything other switching parties or retirement. Either way, sucks for the GOP.

Posted by Johnny | September 17, 2007 12:01 PM

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Ouch, Bob. You caught me with my NC-17 version of the post which I had up for approximately 2 minutes.

Oh well.

Posted by Gary M. Miller | September 17, 2007 12:10 PM

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I'm betting that Steve Kelley would get in the ring.

Posted by Johnny | September 17, 2007 12:15 PM

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I have a list of potential GOP candidates on my blog.

Posted by Michael B. Brodkorb | September 17, 2007 2:03 PM

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Andrew Borene? Not with that background. Domestic assault? Yeah, right. Our very own Mark Olson. We can do better than that.

Posted by ginsoaked | September 17, 2007 2:49 PM

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I believe it was Borene's wife, not Borene, who was charged in the incident. As I recall, he says he was responsible for it by virtue of his chemical dependency. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I don't believe there's an allegation that Borene raised his hand against his wife.

That is not the case with Mr. Olson.

Posted by Bob Collins | September 17, 2007 3:06 PM

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Hasn't Judi Dutcher been named as a possibility a few times in the past for this seat?

Posted by Jon | September 17, 2007 5:22 PM

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As long as we're throwing names out, I heard earlier this year that Andrew Luger was sniffing around a possible run. That said, my money's on Denise Dittrich or Maria Ruud. They're the rising stars. If there's anything the last few years should have taught the DFL: Run dull, greyish-white men, and thou shalt be punished. Run youngish, moderate women, and thou shalt prosper.

On the GOP side, Geoff Michel, Jeff Johnson or Joyce Peppin would seem to be well placed for a run.

Posted by Chris | September 17, 2007 6:44 PM

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Brodkorb beat you to the punch on this one by 7 minutes. (Assuming that the clocks of both computers are correct).

Posted by Eva Young | September 17, 2007 8:19 PM

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Oh gosh, Eva, it's hard for me to come up with the words to adequately express my distaste for the blogger world's "I had it before you did" nonsense.

I offer the gentleman from the Republic of MDE heartiest congratulations.

Posted by Bob Collins | September 17, 2007 8:38 PM

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People should know their facts before they spread untruths. For what Britta Borene was put through by her husband and politics she deserves better. Take a look at this link.

http://www.mnsun.com/articles/2006/09/30/news/dw28borene.txt

(Collins: Not sure what the untruth you're referring to here. It looks pretty much as I recall it. In any event, Borene said he accepted the responsibility and would seek treatment. Are they still together?)

Posted by Carson Ruggiero | September 20, 2007 11:33 AM

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