Political Notebook

A look at how much campaigns raised in Rochester

The Minnesota Campaign Finance and Public Disclosure Board today released the latest campaign finance reports covering the 2010 elections. Here is a quick look at how much Rochester area legislative candidates raised and spent on the race.

A couple of interesting things to note. Former DFL Rep. Andy Welti of Plainview outspent his GOP opponent Rep. Mike Benson by nearly $15,700. But it is important to keep in mind that plenty of money outside the campaigns flowed into that race in the final days. The challenge is getting a real sense of where all that money came from and how much was spent.

Also GOP Sen. Carla Nelson raised more than $69,000 beating out former DFL Sen. Ann Lynch, who raised nearly $56,500. But they both spent roughly $65,000 on the race. Similar to the Benson/Welti race, this race also attracted plenty of dollars from around the state.

Here are the fundraising totals for Rochester area legislative candidates.

Senate District 29
Greg French, DFL-Byron
Total receipts: $14,937
Total expenditures: $14,932

*David Senjem, R-Rochester
Total receipts: $44,468
Total expenditures: $41,193

House District 29A
*Duane Quam, R-Byron
Total receipts: $22,108
Total expenditures: $19,853

Doug Wunderlich, DFL-Mantorville
Total receipts: $12,374
Total expenditures: $13,610 (includes $1,000 loan)

House District 29B
*Kim Norton, DFL-Rochester
Total receipts: $30,464
Total expenditures: $33,856

Mike Rolih, R-Rochester
Total receipts: $24,883
Total expenditures: $24,339

Senate District 30
Ann Lynch, DFL-Rochester
Total receipts: $56,464
Total expenditures: $65,008

*Carla Nelson, R-Rochester
Total receipts: $69,113
Total expenditures: $65,996

House District 30A
*Tina Liebling, DFL-Rochester
Total receipts: $27, 483
Total expenditures: $32,262

Charlie O’Connell

UPDATE: O'Connell turned in his report by the deadline but it was not posted online until today.

Total receipts: $100

Total expenditures: $3,038 with funding coming from O'Connell.

House District 30B
*Mike Benson, R-Rochester
Total receipts: $22,491
Total expenditures: $22,939

Andy Welti, DFL-Plainview
Total receipts: $25,129
Total expenditures: $38,627

* Winner of the 2010 election

Quam and Wunderlich to square off on Tuesday

 

 


Republican candidate Duane Quam, of Byron, and DFL candidate Doug Wunderlich, of Mantorville, will go head-to-head in a candidate forum planned for Tuesday. Quam and Wunderlich are running for the House District 29A seat being vacated by Republican Randy Demmer, who is running for Congress.

The forum is being sponsored by the Coalition of Greater Minnesota Cities. Dodge Center Mayor Bill Ketchum will serve as moderator. The event starts at 7 p.m. at the Dodge Center Community Center, 35 E. Main St. in Dodge Center.

Tea Party forum? Local DFLers say thanks but no thanks

All of Rochester's DFL incumbents signed a letter declining to participating in a candidate forum sponsored by the Rochester Tea Party Patriots. In the letter, the lawmakers thank the group for hosting the forum but add that they hope their members will take advantage of one of the "neutral forums" being held. The lawmakers declining to participate are: Sen. Ann Lynch, Rep. Tina Liebling, Rep. Kim Norton and Rep. Andy Welti. Also choosing not to go is the District 29A DFL candidate Doug Wunderlich. Click here to  Download Letter from DFL candidates

One DFL candidate is going to participate. Senate District 29 candidate Greg French, of Byron, has said he plans to attend. The Republicans who have said they will attend are Senate Minority Leader Dave Senjem, former state Rep. Carla Nelson, House District 29A candidate Duane Quam, House District 29B candidate Mike Rolih, House District 30A candidate Charlie O'Connell and House District 30B candidate Mike Benson.

Rochester Tea Party Patriots Chair Cindy Maves said the group does not endorse and candidate or party "but endeavors to educate the voters and provide opportunities for them to make the own informed decisions." The group does urge its members in its e-mail news updates to help elect conservative candidates.

The event starts at 6 p.m. on Thursday, Sept. 23 with a buffet dinner at Godfather's Pizaa, 1611 16th St. N.W. in Rochester. The forum runs from 7 p.m.t o 8:30 p.m. All candidates will have five minutes to introduce themselves and they will then answer questions from the audience.

A local election wrap-up

Here's a quick recap of the big races. The Associated Press is reporting that Minnesota House Speaker Margaret Anderson Kelliher has officially conceded to former U.S. Sen. Mark Dayton in the DFL gubernatorial race. Statewide, Dayton beat Kelliher by 6,777 votes with 99 percent of precincts reporting. In total, Dayton got 41 percent of the vote and Kelliher got 40 percent. Former state Rep. Matt Entenza came in a distant third with 18 percent.

In Olmsted County, Kelliher narrowly beat Dayton winning by 164 votes.

Republican-endorsed candidate Tom Emmer easily won last night's primary with 82 percent of the vote. That is the same percentage of the vote he got in Olmsted County receiving 3,380 votes.

Independent Party-endorsed candidate Tom Horner got 64 percent of the statewide vote with the second place challenger — Winona-native Rob Hahn — getting 14 percent. Horner did even better in Olmsted County getting 76 percent of the vote.

GOP-endorsed candidate Duane Quam easily defeated challenger Kerry Stoick in the House District 29A Republican primary. He got 66 percent of the vote while Stoick got 34 percent. Quam will now take on DFL-endorsed candidate Doug Wunderlich for retiring GOP Rep. Randy Demmer's seat. Demmer stepped down to run for Congress.

In Senate District 28, DFL-endorsed candidate Joe Fricke had a decisive victory over Bruce Montplaisir getting 75 percent of the vote. Fricke will take on Republican John Howe, current mayor of Red Wing. They are battling to replace retiring DFL Sen. Steve Murphy of Red Wing.

One of the big surprises of the night came in the 2nd Congressional District DFL primary where former state Rep. Shelley Madore beat out the DFL-endorsed candidate Dan Powers. Madore got 55 percent of the vote with Powers getting 45 percent. Madore will challege Republican incumbent Congressman John Kline.

An election suprise — two GOPers to battle for Demmer's seat

In a surprise move, Republican Kerry Stoick filed today to run for House District 29A forcing a GOP primary. The Republican-endorsed candidate is Duane Quam, former chair of the 1st District Republicans who lives in Byron. Quam beat out Stoick and Mantorville City Council member Chuck Bradford for the party's endorsement. The House seat is up for grabs Hayfield Republican Randy Demmer announced he was retiring in order to run for congress.

Stoick— a nurse practitioner — is a newcomer to politics. She has been active in the Rochester Area Republican Women and attended Rochester Tea Party Patriot events. In an interview, Stoick said she believes that primaries are meant to be part of the election process so that voters can have a say on which candidate moves on to the general election.

Some have called the 33-year-old Stoick a younger version of Sarah Palin. At the endorsing convention, Stoick's campaign co-chair Leisa Luis-Grill told the delegates, “She chops her own firewood and shot a rabid raccoon off the front porch to protect the family dog.”

But Stoick dismissed the comparison saying she does not see herself as being that similar to Palin. She said that the former Alaska governor is often seen as a polarizing figure. By contrast, she said she does not consider herself to be polarizing and is willing to work across party lines to get things done.

The DFL-endorsed candidate running is Douglas Wunderlich, a retired teacher and volunteer firefighter.

Rochester's endorsementpalooza!

This weekend proved to be big for area endorsements. We now have a better idea of who will be on the ballot this November when it comes to local legislative races. Here's a brief recap.

House District 29A: This is the lone open seat without an incumbent running for re-election. Rep. Randy Demmer, R-Hayfield, has said he is not running and is instead focusing on winning the GOP endorsement for Congress. Democrats endorsed Douglas Wunderlich for the seat. He has long been active in the party. He is a retired teacher and volunteer firefighter who lives in Mantorville. Republicans endorsed Duane Quam, former chair of the First District Republicans. He beat out two other GOP candidates — Chuck Bradford and Kerry Stoick. Quam lives in Byron and is a senior engineer at IBM.

House District 29B: DFL incumbent Rep. Kim Norton was endorsed for the seat. Republicans endorsed former professional baseball player Mike Rolih for the seat.

Senate District 29: Senate Minority Leader Dave Senjem of Rochester secured the GOP endorsement. Democrats endorsed Byron driving school owner Greg French.

House District 30A: DFL incumbent Rep. Tina Liebling was endorsed. So far there is not a Republican candidate but party leaders say a few people are considering running.

House District 30B: Democrats endorsed incumbent Rep. Andy Welti of Plainview. Republicans endorsed Rochester business professor Mike Benson.

Senate District 30: incumbent Sen. Ann Lynch received the DFL party endorsement as she seeks a second term. There is no Republican candidate yet that has been endorsed. Former GOP state Rep. Carla Nelson has said she is considering running for the seat.