Posted on 09/23/2015 11:13:24 AM PDT by Clintonfatigued
The GOP shortlist now looks much different than it did even a week ago.
Former state Sen. Ted Daley, an accountant and West Point grad who served in the Gulf and Iraq wars, is widely considered the party’s most credible candidate at this point. He was elected to the Senate in 2010, but lost re-election in 2012.
Calling him “squeaky clean,” the state GOP operative said that Daley’s military service casts him “in the Kline mold.” Kline served 25 years in the Marines.
And while Daley’s “very conservative,” a GOP operative who works on House races added, “he’s not a bomb thrower.”
Although he’s not likely a top recruit, one candidate with the ability to self-fund is former state Sen. John Howe, who told the Twin Cities Pioneer Bulletin Wednesday, “I have been contacted by numerous people to run, so I am seriously weighing the options.” The former Red Wing mayor, who lost the nomination for secretary of state in 2014, said he will make a decision by early next week.
State Rep. Tony Albright is also considered a credible candidate, but probably wouldn’t be in the top tier, the House race operative suggested.
The two most conservative candidates considering the race are state Rep. Steve Drazkowski, who appeals to tea party activists, and two-time Kline challenger David Gerson, the one Republican already in the race. Republican operatives suggest that both men would be too conservative for the Obama district in a presidential year, and that they’re likely to eat into each other’s support if Drazkowski gets into the race.
Former state Rep. Pam Myhra is well-regarded, but she, too, could be too conservative for what Kline told reporters on Sept. 9 was a clear swing district.
(Excerpt) Read more at atr.rollcall.com ...
The list has changed dramatically. Do any Minnesota Freepers know the latest developments?
This is my district. This information is about as up to the minute as it gets.
Maybe Michele Bachmann could move into the district ?
I thought Drazkowski already said no earlier this week?
Yep, dropped out on Monday.
She could barely hold the most Republican district in the state (which she has retired from) so of course having her run in a distinct that voted for Obama by a hair is a great idea. ;d
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