Sixth District Rep. Mark Kennedy, R-Minn., has already begun campaigning for U.S. Senate even though Minnesotans won't vote for nearly two years. Democrats say Kennedy is shirking his House of Representatives duties in favor of his Senate bid. (02/25/2005)

Child safety advocate Patty Wetterling, who ran for Congress last year, is shifting her 2006 campaign focus to a possible Senate bid. (02/25/2005)

The 2006 election is more than 20 months off, but Monday at the Capitol it seemed like the campaign has already started. Two Republican lawmakers declared themselves candidates for the 6th District Congressional seat, the latest in a chain reaction set off last week when U.S. Sen. Mark Dayton announced he won't seek a second term. (02/14/2005)

Mark Kennedy's decision to enter the race for the U.S. Senate has created an open field in Minnesota's 6th Congressional District. Five Republicans have been mentioned as expressing interest in running for the seat. DFLers are waiting to see what last year's candidate, Patty Wetterling, will do. (02/11/2005)

U.S. Rep. Mark Kennedy is the first candidate to officially jump into the U.S. Senate race. Kennedy, a Republican, announced Friday that he will run for the seat being vacated by DFLer Mark Dayton. (02/11/2005)

Sen. Mark Dayton's decision to bow out after one term touched off a flurry of talk Wednesday about Democrats who might try to move up the political ladder. (02/09/2005)

Republican Rod Grams is pondering a political comeback with a possible challenge to Democratic Sen. Mark Dayton, who knocked him out of office in 2000. (02/02/2005)