[AuH2ORepublican]

"I have said that I would not be surprised if Dayton declines to even run for a 2nd term, it seems all he likes about his job is the title. I believe Rep. Mark Kennedy is warming up in the bullpen to take him on."

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It's no secret that Congressman Mark Kennedy is the GOP's top choice to take on Dayton in 2006. 2006 should be a good year for the GOP in Minnesota, with Governor Tim Pawlenty running for reelection, and I think Kennedy will beat Dayton by at least 5%. If Dayton declines to run for reelection, it could be a much more difficult race for Kennedy if a less extremist Democrat runs.

[fieldmarshaldj]

The problem is with the MN DFL, they've nominated nothing but whackjobs in the past dozen years that are far to the left of the mainstream. Even the late Gov. Perpich would be considered too rightist (he was pro-life) by the party today. They could probably nominate Skip Humphrey and he'd lose to Kennedy. The only DFL Congressman who comes to mind as a potentially strong candidate would be Collin Peterson, but he's probably too rightist to survive a radical nominating convention.