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

Meeks, Senjem to headline fundraiser for Rolih

GOP lieutenant governor candidate Annette Meeks and Senate Minority Leader Dave Senjem will be the featured speakers at an upcoming fundraiser for Republican House District 29B candidate Mike Rolih.

The event will be  at 6:30 p.m. Friday, Sept. 24 at the La Quinta Hotel, 1625 S. Broadway in Rochester. Rolih grew up in Joliet, Ill. and is a former professional baseball player. He recently moved to Rochester and is launching a corporate consulting firm. He aso recently bought an existing optical company.

Rolih is running against DFL Rep. Kim Norton of Rochester, who won election to the seat in 2006.

For more information about tickets to the fundraiser, call Amber Rolih at 507-208-5678.

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.

Norton, Welti launch "listening tour"

 
Two DFL incumbent lawmakers are kicking off listening tours in their districts to hear from voters. Rep. Kim Norton, DFL-Rochester and Rep. Andy Welti, DFL-Plainview, are both launching their tours today.

Welti was scheduled to start his listening tour at 9 a.m. at Century High School. He plans to make several spots in House District 30B to talk with residents. His district includes a portion of southeast Rochester and surrounding small towns including Stewartville, Eyota and Plainview.

Norton's listening tour kicks off at 12:15 p.m. at Goose Egg Park in Rochester. She also plans to travel around her district, House District 29B. That district covers northwest Rochester. The media has been invited to tag along with both of the candidates on their tours.

Both Welti and Norton are running against endorsed Republican candidates in November. Former Rochester Postmaster Mike Benson is challenging Welti, and former professional baseball player Mike Rolih is running against Norton.

Murphy endorses Fricke for his seat

Veteran DFL state Sen. Steve Murphy said he is backing recent law school graduate Joe Fricke  for his seat. Murphy is retiring after 18 years in the legislature.

Two Democrats are vying for the endorsement. They are Fricke and retiring Lewiston-Altura Superintendent Bruce Montplaisir. Fricke has said he will emphasize creating jobs and rural development. Montplaisir said his biggest concern is education and making sure that schools have stable, reliable funding.

The endorsing convention will be June 19 at Red Wing Public Library.
Murphy said he has tremendous respect for Montplaisir and his knowledge of school funding. But he said he is throwing his support behind Fricke because he believes Fricke has the time and energy needed to be a successful lawmaker.

"Joe is a recent graduate of law school and has a tremendous work ethic behind him," he said. "People want real leaders, and I believe we've got a leader in the making."

Whoever wins the DFL primary in August will face Republican-endorsed candidate John Howe, the mayor of Red Wing. Howe is already campaigning and announced that he has distributed 40,000 copies of a six-question survey to voters in the district. Topics include the state budget, taxes, job creation, education, transportation and the Prairie Island nuclear plant.

DFL delegates will also endorse a candidate for the House District 28A and 28B seats. The DFLers in each of these races do not face a primary challenger. Running for District 28A is Jerry Roth, a multi-machine operator at Cannon Equipment in Cannon Falls. He will take on GOP Rep. Tim Kelly of Red Wing. The District 28B DFL candidate is Plainview Area Chamber of Commerce director and farmer Mark A. Schneider. He is challenging incumbent GOP Rep. Steve Drazkowski of Mazeppa.

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.