Political Notebook

Winona Realtor to challenge Miller for Senate seat

A Winona real estate agent announced Wednesday that he will run for the Minnesota Senate seat held by freshman Republican Sen. Jeremy Miller.

Democrat Jack Krage said he is running because the Republican-led Senate has failed to do what is in the best interest of the state.

"In one short year in control of the House and Senate, they've forced a government shutdown, raised property taxes by nearly $1 billion, and there is now a good chance that the state is still in the red. Minnesota needs a change in leadership," he said in a statement.

Krage grew up on a dairy farm in Ridgeway and is a graduate of Winona State University. He has been a Realtor with Coldwell Banker Skeels/Moore and Associates for 27 years. He serves on the Lions Global Leadership Management Team. He has served two terms as president of the Southern Minnesota Association of Realtors.

Miller, a Winona businessman, narrowly defeated first-term DFL Sen. Sharon Erickson Ropes, 51 percent to 49 percent. He won in a year when Republicans regained control of the Minnesota Senate for the first time in nearly 40 years.

Senate District 31 stretches from Winona to La Crescent to Chatfield. But it is unclear what the final senate boundary lines will look like in 2012 due to the redistricting process. Every 10 years, the state is required to redraw all the political boundaries based on the latest census data.

"With the economy struggling, the middle class cannot afford to be pinched even tighter," Krage said in a statement. "I would like to be southeastern Minnesota's voice in the Senate and let the Legislature know that enough is enough."

Local GOP candidates join in mass election filing

A crowd of Republican candidates gathered in St. Paul today as part of a mass election filing. Several area candidates made the trek and joined in a news conference featuring Republican gubernatorial candidate Tom Emmer.

Local non-incumbent GOP candidates filing today to run against were Duane Quam for House District 29A, Carla Nelson for Senate District 30, Charlie O'Connell for House District 30A, Mike Benson for House District 30B and Jeremy Miller for Senate District 31. Incumbents at today's mass filing included Senate Minority Leader Dave Senjem of Rochester, Rep. Steve Drazkowski of Mazeppa and Rep. Tim Kelly of Red Wing.

At an enthusiastic (and very warm!) press conference, Republican candidates this morning compared this year to the GOP's landslide midterm election win in 1994.

"If you can't get excited about this year, your heart is not beating," Senjem told a crowd of enthusiastic candidates and supporters.

Local Republicans running say voters are concerned about government spending.

"The number one issue people are talking about is out-of-control government spending," said Miller, who is running for the seat currently held by Sen. Sharon Erickson Ropes, DFL-Winona.

Benson, who is running against DFL Rep. Andy Welti of Plainview, said he believes voters want change.

"I've knocked on 1,600 doors now, as late as Saturday I knocked on 400, and overwhelmingly the people I've talked to are looking for a new direction," Benson said.

In particular, he said they want lawmakers who will restructure government and lower taxes with the goal of encouraging economic development.