Political Notebook

Engstrand running for congress again — in Texas

Looks like Jim Engstrand won't be running for the 1st Congressional District seat again. Instead, the former Pine Island resident is running for Congress in Texas.

Engstrand is seaking to represent Texas' 36th Congressional District — a new district created as a result of the 2010 Census.  Engstrand ran for the 1st Congressional District seat in 2010 but dropped out after failing to win the GOP endorsement. Hayfield Republican Randy Demmer won the endorsement. Demmer ended up losing to incumbent DFL Congressman Tim Walz by 5 percentage points.

Engstrand served 22 years in the National Guard. On his new campaign website, he touts growing up on a family farm and his military service. The website sums up Engstrand as follows: "If you want a fighter who will call a lie a lie , If you want a Big Government Spending Cutter (25% ACROSS THE FULL SPECTRUM OF GOVERNMENT), If you want a down to earth approachable liberty loving tyranny fighting non- establishment candidate please sign up to get Jim elected."

Republican Sen. Mike Parry of Waseca is the first Republican to announce he is running against Walz in 2012.

 

 

 

 

Demmer not running for congress

Don't expect to see any Randy Demmer campaign signs next fall. The Hayfield Republican said he has decided not to run again for the First Congressional District — or any other political office. Instead, he is focusing on his new job as director of business operations for Construction Ventures Inc. of Winona. The company invests in construction-related businesses and provides management and support services to their affiliated companies.

Demmer came within 5 percentage points of defeating DFL Congressman Tim Walz last year. Prior to his congressional run, Demmer served four terms in the Minnesota House. On Friday, Republican state Sen. Mike Parry of Waseca announced he is running against Walz. So does Demmer support Parry? At this point, Demmer said he is not in a rush to endorse any candidates.

"I always like to check out all the options before I jump," Demmer said.

DFLers rally for Dayton in Rochester

DFL gubernatorial candidate Mark Dayton wrapped up his statewide fly-around this evening at the Rochester International Airport. An enthusiastic crowd of supporters greeted him filling the airport's conference room to capacity.

Joining Dayton for the rally was his running mate Sen. Yvonne Prettner Solon, 1st District DFL Rep. Tim Walz, Speaker of the House Margaret Anderson Kelliher, St. Paul Mayor Chris Coleman, Rochester Rep. Tina Liebling and AFL-CIO Minnesota Chapter President Shar Knutson. Throughout the rally, speakers emphasized that Dayton is the candidate who will look at for the middle class.

"For middle class Minnesotans, the number one issue for them is jobs. And we have a candidate for governor who has experience in creating jobs and he has a plan to make sure Minnesotans get back to work," Knutson said.

Dayton told the crowd he has long recognized the importance of Rochester as home to the Mayo Clinic. He remembered when he was  6- or 7-years-old and traveling to Rochester because his younger sister had vision problem. Mayo Clinic's treatment restored his sister's vision.

Looking ahead, he said the key to helping Rochester and Minnesota remain competitive is to focus on education.

"It is so crucial we restore that commitment through early childhood education, kindergarten through 12th grade, higher education so that we can continue to educate young people for the challenges and the environment of competing in a global economy," Dayton said.

Republican 1st District candidate Randy Demmer had his own rally nearby at the Rochester International Events Center on Monday night.

Rochester gets plenty of attention in final campaign push

In advance of tomorrow's election, gubernatorial and congressional candidates are busy traveling across the state including making stops in Rochester. The visits kick off at 11:45 a.m. today when IP gubernatorial candidate Tom Horner will rally voters at the Peace Plaza in Rochester. The Horner campaign has three buses traveling the state as part of its get-out-the-vote efforts. Horner will be on the bus headed to Rochester.

At 12:15 p.m., GOP gubernatorial candidate Tom Emmer and Gov. Tim Pawlenty will fly in to the Rochester International Airport as part of a statewide fly-around tour. At 6:45 p.m., DFL gubernatorial candidate Mark Dayton will also fly in to the Rochester airport. He will be joined by U.S.  Sen. Amy Klobuchar. Also joining Dayton will be DFL 1st Distrit Rep. Tim Walz and his wife Gwen Walz, House Speaker Margaret Anderson Kelliher, St. Paul Mayor Chris Coleman, Rochester Sen. Ann Lynch and AFL-CIO Minnesota Chapter President Shar Knutson.

At the same time as the Dayton rally, GOP congressional candidate Randy Demmer will be holding a get-out-the-vote rally of his own at the Rochester International Events Center.

Penny takes Walz to task over TV ads

Former DFL Congressman Tim Penny used his radio show on Friday to criticize DFL 1st District Rep. Tim Walz for running attack ads against his GOP opponent Randy Demmer that Penny said are false.

On his radio show, Penny said that "I personally like Tim Walz, but I am disappointed by his recent campaign behavior."

In particular, Penny said he was dismayed to see a Walz ad that accused Demmer of wanting to privatize Social Security.

"That is a tactic used by Democrats every two years in order to frighten seniors into voting for them. The fact is neither major party would do anything to affect current retirees," Penny said.

He also alluded to an MPR analysis that concluded the Walz ad fails the truth test.

But Penny said that "I am even more alarmed by the latest Walz ad because it is not based on a public policy issue but is rather a personal attack."

That is an ad that criticizes Demmer for taking government subsidies. Penny said those subsidies include U.S.D.A. payments for Demmer's farm operation — something farmers across southern Minnesota get. He said that the ad also exaggerates by a factor of 10 how much Demmer received in tax-increment financing to establish businesses in Minnesota.

"My grandpa always told me if something is a half truth it is not the truth. To me, neither of these ads passes the truth test," he said.

Penny added that during his six terms representing southern Minnesota, he never ran a TV ad that attacked his opponent. To listen to Penny's radio commentary, go here.

Walz not included in Strib's Voter's Guide

I was startled when I opened the Star Tribune's Voter's Guide this morning and saw that DFL incumbent Congressman Tim Walz was not included in the 1st Congressional District race profiles. There is a note at the bottom of the page that says "Tim Walz, DFL, also is on the ballot but did not participate in the voter's guide." Hmm.......

I did place a call to Walz's campaign and I am waiting to hear back on whether they intentionally decided not to participate or if it was a mistake. While Walz is not in the guide, all three of his opponents are — Republican Randy Demmer, independent Lars Johnson and IP candidate Steven Wilson.  It appears that Walz was the only congressional incumbent who did not participate in the Voter's Guide.

UPDATE: Just talked to the Walz' campaign's Communications Director Sara Severs who said that the campaign did make the decision not to participate in the Star Tribune Voter's Guide. She said they were inundated with requests and it became a "triage" situation. She said they determined other requests were more important but that nothing should be read into the decision not to participate in this voter's guide.

Demmer's last TV ad rips on Walz

Republican 1st Congressional District candidate Randy Demmer released his last TV ad of the election campaign today. Similar to previous ads, this one focuses on Walz's votes in favor of the health care overhaul and stimulus bill.

The ad starts off asking "Do they know what they have done?" and puts up pictures of Walz and U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. The narrator goes on to say, "Do Tim Walz and Nancy Pelosi really understand what they have done to our future? They passed Obama's government run health care, spent $800 billion on Obama's stimulus plan that failed and increased our debt by trillions of dollars, piling debt on our grandchildren, limiting their future." You can view the ad here.

GOPers warn voters not to take expected wave for granted

At a Republican rally this morning in Rochester featuring Gov. Tim Pawlenty and gubernatorial candidate Tom Emmer, GOPers warned supporters against being lulled into a false sense of security. 1st District Republican candidate Randy Demmer addressed the crowd of more than 60 cheering supporters gathered at the Ramada Hotel & Conference Center and said even though there is the expectation of a wave of Republican wins it is still important to get out and vote.

"Don't pay attention to what they say about the wave. Go out and make it happen," he said.

The usually mild-mannered Senate Minority Leader Dave Senjem of Rochester was also fired up this morning telling supporters that this area is key when it comes to the governor's race.

"As I often say, the road to the corner office is through Olmsted County and we're going to do it for (Emmer), just as we did for our existing governor," Senjem said.

Recent polls have shown Emmer lagging in greater Minnesota. In 2006, Pawlenty did very well in Olmsted County winning nearly 55 percent of the vote and many credit that as being key in his victory. On Monday, the governor made the case why southeast Minnesota residents should back Emmer.

"Tom Emmer understands the strategic importance of southeastern Minnesota to the rest of the state," Pawlenty said. "He understands that if southeastern Minnesota — one of the great growth engines including Rochester — does not prosper going forward that is going to be a problem for the whole state."

DFLers will also be busy hitting the campaign trail in southeast Minnesota looking to woo voters. Gubernatorial candidate Mark Dayton will attend a rally at an Altura dairy farm.

Does Walz really enjoy a 16-point lead over Demmer?

Politico reports today that a new analysis of the 1st Congressional District race by Grove Insight Survey for Project New West finds that DFL incumbent Tim Walz has a 16-point lead over his Republican challenger Randy Demmer. That poll seems to contradict a poll that came out Friday by KAAL-TV/Survey USA that found Walz narrowly leading Demmer 47 to 42 with a margin of error of 4.1 percent. So what is going on?

Click here to Download Grove Insight Survey memo

MinnPost's Derek Wallbank makes an interesting observation regarding the Survey USA poll. He notes that the survey has an interesting qualification:  14% of the likely voters SurveyUSA includes here do not regularly vote in Congressional elections, but tell us they are  uniquely motivated to vote in 2010. Not surprisingly, these uniquely motivated voters, in 2010, are voting Republican. Many pollsters treat these voters as "posers" (assuming they will "talk the talk" to a pollster but not "walk the walk" on election day). Many pollsters exclude these uniquely motivated voters from their likely voter pool. That, in 2010, has the effect of making any poll more favorable to the Democrat. If SurveyUSA excluded uniquely motivated voters from this poll, the Democrat's lead doubles, from the 5 points we report here, to 10 points.

Regardless of whether the polls are accurate, one thing is for sure — both Democrats and Republicans are pouring plenty of money into TV ads in the final days of the campaign. The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee announced it was coming to Walz's aid paying for a TV ad that accuses Demmer of wanting to privatize Social Security.

Meanwhile, the National Republican Congressional Committee has already released a 2nd ad in support of Demmer that blasts Walz for worsening the deficit by supporting the stimulus bill, the health care overhaul and cap and trade bill. Demmer's campaign released a new TV ad this week accusing him of voting with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi in hopes of getting a leadership position.The Walz campaign is hitting back with an ad attacking Demmer for taking Per Diem for days he did not work at the legislature.

Voters sick of the attack ads may just have to shut off the TV between now and Nov. 2 because it looks likeno slowdown is in sight as this race starts getting more national attention.

 

Flood special session today as campaigning continues

Lawmakers return to St. Paul today to pass an $80 million flood relief package for areas of southern Minnesota devastated by last month's flood. The package includes aid for residents of the following counties: Mower, Olmsted, Dodge, Freeborn, Goodhue, Steele, Wabasha and Winona. Also included in the bill is some aid to help with the recovery in Wadena after this summer's tornado.

The special session follows a federal disaster declaration for 21 southern counties struck by severe storms and flooding last month. The federal government pays three-quarters of public recovery costs, leaving the rest for the state to pick up. The money will go toward rebuilding public roads, providing loans to people and grants to small business.

Meanwhile, the campaigning continues in earnest. Supporters of 1st District DFL Rep. Tim Walz will gather in Byron this afternoon to demand that his Republican opponent Randy Demmer explain why he took Per Diem for days he did not work at the state Capitol. This comes amid news on Friday of a new KAAL-TV/Survey USA poll that found the 1st District race has tightened up. The poll found 47 percent support Walz and 42 percent support Demmer with a margin of error of 4.1 percent.

Meanwhile, the National Republican Congressional Committee released a new ad that goes after Walz for supporting the stimulus bill, health care overhaul and the cap and trade bill.