Political Party

Hagedorn announces run for Congress

Republican Jim Hagedorn made it official this morning that he is running for the 1st Congressional District seat held by Democrat Tim Walz.

Hagedorn is the son of former Minnesota Congressman Tom Hagedorn. The junior Hagedorn recently moved back to his hometown of Blue Earth to run in the race.

In a news release, Hagedorn is quoted as saying "The greatness of America is under assault by the liberal politicians who run Washington D.C. The big government agenda of President Obama, Nancy Pelosi and Tim Walz is in direct conflict with our free enterprise system and the enduring principles of liberty, individual opportunity, personal responsibility and traditional cultural values."

He goes on to call Walz a "thoughtless liberal" and voices concern that the U.S. is headed toward "European socialism."

Hagedorn has spent the past 25 years working on Capitol Hill. He was a former legislative assistant to Minnesota Congressman Arlan Stangeland. He also worked for two agencies of the U.S. Department of Treasury. He is currently working as director of government relations and corporate development for Eltromed,

The news release also outlines Hagedorn's priorities.

"Hagedorn cites his congressional priorities as implementing Reagan/JFK economic policies to help small business create jobs; slashing federal spending through top-to-bottom reviews of all federal agencies, beginning with the Pentagon; limiting government by returning power to the states; restructuring foreign entanglements and defunding “nation building;” and defending the American way of life and traditional culture."

Here is a link to the Web site.

He joins former state Rep. Allen Quist of St. Peter and state Rep. Randy Demmer of Hayfield who have already announced they are running for the Republican nomination.

"Mr. Conservative" to run for Walz's seat?

Just got a media advisory about another Republican candidate scheduled to announce plans to run for the 1st District Congressional seat currently held by Democratic Rep. Tim Walz. The advisory does not include the name of the candidate. Instead it offers this description: "A fresh face with a familiar name."

Based on that description, my guess is that Jim Hagedorn will be the one announcing tomorrow at 2 p.m. at the Ramada Inn in Rochester. I previously wrote that he was considering running for the seat previously held by his father, Tom Hagedorn.

Hagedorn spent 25 years working on Capitol Hill, including seven years as the senior legislative assistant to former Minnesota Republican Rep. Arlan Stangeland. He also had his own blog "Mr. Conservative." But he posted that after the 2008 election he was suspending all posts "in order to explore the opportunity to return to his southern Minnesota roots, accept a position in the private sector and run for Congress." Here is a link to his blog.

Hagedorn's announcement comes one day after Hayfield Republican state Rep. Randy Demmer announced he was running for a second time for the seat. Former state Rep. Allen Quist has also announced he is seeking the GOP endorsement.

Allen Quist announces run for Congress

Former state Republican Rep. Allen Quist announced this morning that he is running for the 1st District Congressional seat held by DFL Rep. Tim Walz.

The retired professor and farmer said he decided to get back into politics because he is concerned about the direction the country is headed.

“My analysis is that the American dream of liberty and opportunity to improve our position in life has been seriously compromised,” he said.

Quist, 65, made the announcement this morning in Mankato, the first stop on a four-city tour of the district. He was expected to hold a news conference at 11 a.m. in Austin and at 1 p.m. in Rochester.

It has been more than a decade since Quist left the statewide political scene. The conservative Republican served three terms in the Minnesota House from 1983 to 1988. He also ran for governor twice. He won the GOP endorsement in 1994, but went on to lose to Republican Gov. Arne Carlson. Four years later he withdrew in favor of GOP candidate Norm Coleman.

He also opposes the cap and trade proposal aimed at cutting greenhouse gases, saying it will lead to higher energy costs. He said he also opposed the $787 billion stimulus. If elected, he said he would focus on balancing the federal budget.

“We are not going to do that overnight, but we have to balance the budget because the continued deficit spending is a huge drag on our economy and that means high unemployment,” he said.

Quist to make announcement tomorrow

Republican Allen Quist will make an announcement "regarding 1st Congressional District" tomorrow at 1p.m. in the Rochester City Council Chambers.

Quist has been considering running for the 1st District Congressional seat currently held by DFL Rep. Tim Walz. Quist, of St. Peter, served three terms in the Minnesota House from 1983 to 1988. He received the GOP gubernatorial endorsement for governor in 1994 but lost to Gov. Arne Carlson.

It certainly seems as though Quist is poised to jump in the race. He already has a "Quist for Congress" Web page and Facebook page.

Walz's campaign has already started mobilizing against Quist. In a fundraising letters to supporters, Walz links Quist to Republican Congresswoman Michele Bachmann writing that they "are two peas in a pod." He said they have a long history of working together adding that "It's clear from their extreme right-wing ideology that they are kindred political spirits."

Quist's wife Julie Quist currently serves as Bachmann's district director. 

Rochester Tea Party Patriots set sights on Walz

The Rochester Tea Party Patriots have another rally planned tomorrow in front of 1st District Rep. Tim Walz's office.

An e-mail from the group features the image of a plug removed from a light socket and states, "Congressman Walz pulled the plug on health care."

The e-mail goes on to state, "The health care bill passed by the U.S. House of Representatives last week will have devastating effects upon our Nation. After talking for weeks out of both sides of his mouth on the issue, Tim Walz demonstrated his true colors when he jumped up on the Nancy Pelosi bandwagon and turned his back on his own constituents!  NOW IT IS TIME FOR THE PEOPLE OF MINNESOTA TO EVALUATE WALZ’S JOB PERFORMANCE!"

The rally is scheduled for 10 a.m. at 1134 7th St. N.W.

The Republican Party of Minnesota is also trying to capitalize on Walz's vote. The party's chairman Tony Sutton wrote an editorial for the Winona Daily News that ran yesterday with the headline "Health care bill enough reason to dump Walz." Here is a link to the editorial. 

Efforts are underway by the Minnesota DFL Party to support Walz. I received a fact sheet from the U.S. House of Representatives about the impacts of the House health care bill for the 1st Congressional District. It states that the bill would provide credits to help an estimated 160,000 households in the district pay for health insurance. It would also provide coverage to 16,000 uninsured residents and make sure that 6,000 individuals with pre-existing conditions get coverage. Click here to Download CD1 Health Care Bill fact sheet

Quist hosts "Freedom in Health Care Forum" tonight in Roch

Potential GOP congressional candidate Allen Quist will be in Rochester tonight hosting a "Freedom in Health Care Forum" tonight in Rochester. The event starts at 7 p.m. at the Ramada Inn.

Quist has established an exploratory committee as he mulls over a potential bid for 1st District DFL Rep. Tim Walz's seat. At the forum, Quist will be speaking out against the Democrats' health care reform plans. He will also outline his own health care reform ideas, which center on malpractice reform and tax rebates.

Tonight's forum is the first of three Quist is holding across the 1st District. Tomorrow he has one in Mankato and Wednesday he is holding one in Worthington. Quist has also said he hopes to announce whether he is running this week. He has already set up a Quist For Congress Web site and Facebook page.

Quist won the GOP gubernatorial endorsement for governor in 1994 but lost to Gov. Arne Carlson. It will be interesting to see what kind of a turnout the St. Peter politician gets in Rochester. He will have a local conservative by his side — former GOP congressional candidate Dr. Brian Davis, who lost to Walz in 2008.

Meanwhile, supporters of health care reform have planned a "Countdown to Change" rally at noon on Thursday in front of Sen. Amy Klobuchar's office in Rochester. The event is being organized by liberal political action committee MoveOn.org.

Walz: 'I don't think we can ever do enough' for soldiers

1st District Congressman Tim Walz offered his reaction to the Fort Hood shootings in an interview last night on MSNBC's "The Ed show" hosted by Ed Schultz. Walz, the highest ranking enlisted soldier ever to serve in Congress, called the incident an "incredible tragedy."

"We've got these brave warriors who do their duty, put themselves at risk for us and they are back on their home post with their families and we see something like this happen," Walz said.

During the interview, Schultz asked Walz whether enough is being done to help support soldiers. Walz said progress is being made but there is still more work to do.

"This is a very demanding job on the families and the warriors. I don't think we will ever be able to do enough," he said.

Here is a link to the interview. It should be noted that it is outdated in terms of the shooting information, saying that the suspected gunman was killed when in actuality he survived with injuries.

Quist to announce congressional bid against Walz soon?

In an interview this afternoon, Republican Allen Quist said he hopes to be making an announcement next week as to whether or not he will run for DFL Congressman Tim Walz's seat.

"I have formed an exploratory committee and the way you explore in my judgment is you campaign aggressively and see what happens. I have been pursuing it aggressively — does that mean I've made a final decision? It does not mean that. But I am certainly inclined to (run)."

Quist said he temporarily put his campaigning on hold 10 days ago in order to focus his attention on speaking out against the House health care reform bill. Quist has organized three "Freedom in Health Care Forums" including one in Rochester at 7 p.m. on Monday at the Ramada Inn. He will also have one in Mankato and Worthington. Quist said he will outline his own health care reform proposals, which include malpractice reform and reducing mandates on insurance companies. He said the goal is to get voters to urge members of Congress to vote against the Democrats' health care reform proposals.

Asked whether these forums are really about building support for his campaign, Quist said it goes against his interest to try to get Walz to vote no on the health care reform bill. 

"If I put my own political interests first, I would just sit back and let (Walz) vote for it and go after him. I'm not going to do that. I want to try and influence him to vote no even though that is not in my political interest," he said.

Quist already has a campaign Web site and a Facebook page up and running.

Quist is a former state representative who won the Republican gubernatorial endorsement in 1994 but lost in a landslide to Gov. Arne Carlson.

Two GOP candidates with familiar names consider run against Walz

Two Republicans with names known within the 1st Congressional District are considering challenging DFL incumbent Tim Walz.

Jim Hagedorn, son of former Minnesota Congressman Tom Hagedorn, said he is considering running for the seat.

"I've been meeting with Republican leaders about the 1st District for some time and am trying to determine how best I can utilize my Capitol Hill and legislative experience to help my party take back the seat," he said.

His father served eight years representing what was the 2nd District — which covered the western edge of the current 1st District including Austin and Mankato. Hagedorn has spent 25 years working on Capitol Hill, including seven years as the senior legislative assistant to former Minnesota Republican Rep. Arlan Stangeland.

Hagedorn also had his own blog "Mr. Conservative." But he posted that after the 2008 election he was suspending all posts "in order to explore the opportunity to return to his southern Minnesota roots, accept a position in the private sector and run for Congress." Here is a link to his blog.

Hagedorn said he is looking at moving back to the district and was checking out homes in Blue Earth, Minn. yesterday.

There has also been plenty of buzz around former Republican gubernatorial candidate Allen Quist. Bluestem Prairie wrote about the potential Quist bid. He won the Republican endorsement in 1994 but lost by a landslide to Gov. Arne Carlson. In an interview yesterday, Quist declined to comment on whether he was running saying "It's just a little too early."

But he then advised me I could send my information to his e-mail at allen@quistforcongress.com. Hmmmm....

Here's a link to my story on these two candidates.

Walz to hold town hall on Afghanistan in Winona

1st District Rep. Tim Walz is hosting a town hall forum on Friday at Winona State University to get residents' input on the war in Afghanistan. The event will be from noon to 1:30 p.m. in Somsen Auditorium.

The town hall comes as President Obama is deciding whether to send more troops to the region following a grim assessment by Gen. Stanley McChrystal of conditions on the ground. Obama is meeting with Congressional leaders today from both parties to discuss the war strategy.

Walz recently traveled to Afghanistan and met with McChrystal. The Democrat from Mankato said he is "not yet convinced" about the need for more troops. Here is an article I wrote about his trip.

"Afghanistan is one of the most important issues that we face today," Walz said. "The lives of our sons and daughters, our husbands and wives, our friends and neighbors are on the line and we owe our brave men and women in uniform a fully engaged public debate on the future of our strategy there."