Democrats endorse Madia in 3rd Congressional Dist.

Ashwin Madia
Ashwin Madia addresses the delegates at the 3rd District DFL convention after the assembly endorsed him for the Congressional race.
MPR Photo/Curtis Gilbert

Ashwin Madia, who is thirty years old and has never run for office before, beat his better established DFL competitor, state senator Terri Bonoff.

Bonoff made good on her pledge to abide by the party's decision, and she threw her support behind Madia, once it became clear that her delegates were defecting to him.

"It is time for us to take back the third district seat in Washington, to stand united as Democrats and begin the battle ahead so that we win in November," Bonoff told the delegates.

Madia is a lawyer and an Iraq war veteran. In his acceptance speech, he ticked off some of the issues he's been emphasizing in his campaign.

Ashwin Madia
Congressional candidate Ashwin Madia courts potential delegates at a DFL Senate District Convention March 8 in Plymouth. Third district DFLers endorsed Madia for Congress at its convention today.
MPR Photo/Curtis Gilbert

"We've been talking about ending this war in Iraq. We've been talking about balancing our budget and bringing some fiscal responsibility back to Washington. We've been talking about addressing global warming, fixing health care in this country, and standing up for civil liberties," Madia said.

Madia's presumptive Republican opponent is state Rep. Erik Pualsen, R-Eden Prairie. The Independence Party has endorsed printing company CEO David Dillon in the race.

Dear reader,

Political debates with family or friends can get heated. But what if there was a way to handle them better?

You can learn how to have civil political conversations with our new e-book!

Download our free e-book, Talking Sense: Have Hard Political Conversations, Better, and learn how to talk without the tension.

Volume Button
Volume
Now Listening To Livestream
MPR News logo
On Air
Radiolab with Lulu Miller