Blogger says Sen. Kleis bid could hurt GOP in St. Cloud area

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If Republican state Sen. Dave Kleis wins his bid for mayor of St. Cloud, his party will have a difficult time holding onto his swing-district Senate seat, according to The First Ring (http://www.thefirstringblog. blogspot.com).

“By gaining a mayor’s seat, Republicans may not only lose a future opponent but their chances of narrowing the margin in the state Senate.

“Those John Ellenbecker for Congress bumper stickers will almost certainly gather dust in 2006 as the St. Cloud mayor and Democrat chose to seek re-election to his seat this fall while the only announced Democrat in the campaign, Elwyn Tinklenberg, raised a surprising $100,000 in his first quarter of fundraising. And hopes of Ellenbecker advancing in any capacity may have taken a shot with the recently announced candidacy of St. Sen. Dave Kleis. If the decision conflicts with the emotions of St. Cloud Republicans, it’s understandable.

“Kleis’ district very well may lose its two Republican legislators by this time next year as Rep. Jim Knoblach, running for Congress, occupies one of the district’s House seats. And there’s no guarantee that either Kleis’ or Knoblach’s seats will be filled by members of the GOP as the region is seen as a swing district with DFL Rep. Joe Opatz sharing room with his colleagues from across the aisle. In each of Kleis’ four elections for his state Senate seat, the margins have ranged from close to razor thin – especially in his last election in 2002 where he faced off against former DFL Associate Chair and 2000 nominee Tarryl Clark, winning by less than 500 votes. Opatz or Clark almost certainly would eye running for Kleis’ seat in the event of him winning this November, forcing a special election to fill the vacancy, and either would stand a strong chance of reducing the number of Republican senators by one.

“Could Kleis win? This fall’s match-up is actually the second time the two have butted heads, with Ellenbecker having lost to Kleis in 1996 for his seat. This is Ellenbecker’s first defense of his office and he will be targeted by conservative groups like the Taxpayer’s League who ran radio ads against Ellenbecker in the fall of 2004 for his push to extend the city’s half-cent sales tax another 17 years. Although Kleis is running with the shutdown in the background, if Ellenbecker is capable of being defeated, Kleis is certainly a candidate who could do so.

“But victory at the local level may come with a legislative cost that some St. Cloud Republican activists may not want to pay.”

GOP Chairman Ron Carey

Minnesota GOP Watch (http://mngopwatch. blogspot.com) rebuts the state GOP’s new chairman for his views on the recent partial shutdown of state government.

“In a July 25 opinion piece in the Star Tribune, Republican Party of Minnesota chair Ron Carey claims that ‘the DFL Senate forced a government shutdown’ and that ‘Republican legislators manage[d] to overcome the Democrats’ desperate and deceitful shutdown tactics.’

“Really, Ron? Take a look at your own party before you blame the DFL. After all, it was Republican Representative Mark Buesgens who said ‘maybe we should just shut it down.’ Republican Representative Jim Knoblach agreed, saying, ‘we need a shutdown.’ After the shutdown began, Republican Senate Minority Leader Dick Day said he liked the idea of letting the idea of letting the shutdown continue for a couple of months. During post-shutdown negotiations, Republican House Speaker Steve Sviggum said that because of Republican Governor Tim Pawlenty’s strongarm tactics, legislators were ‘further apart.’ Republican legislators, Governor Tim Pawlenty, and House Speaker Steve Sviggum strongly opposed plans that would have ended the shutdown or prevented it from happening in the first place. And even after a compromise budget was agreed to by leaders on both sides, ten Republican legislators voted against ending the shutdown.

“Sometimes, Ron, the truth can hurt.”

Democratic candidates for governor

Minnesota Lefty Liberal (http://mnleftyliberal. blogspot.com) is hearing, from anonymous sources, that a number of DFLers are mulling a bid for governor.

“According to some unnamed sources, Mike Hatch is still considering a run for Governor. However, in classic Mike Hatch style, he is not sure he wants to take the chance, and has been putting off a decision for some time now. Privately, I am told he was going to announce after Memorial Day, then after Session ended, then after Special Session ended, and now he is looking at not making a decision until Labor Day.

“The same sources, who asked not to be named but are high ranking party activists, told me that while Mike is not worried so far about Steve Kelley, he is however increasingly worried about State House DFL Leader Matt Entenza joining the race. This paranoia and fear of Rep. Entenza stems back to 2002 when Rep. Entenza looked into running for AG if Mike Hatch ran for Governor. Rep Entenza however has yet to make any moves suggesting he is running, and I am told continues to be focused on the state house.

“The GOP as well seems to be fixated on Rep Entenza, with Brian Sullivan attacking him on MPR Friday for using his money (well, his wife’s money) in the last election to such an extent. Kind of like he pot calling the kettle black don’t you think.

“But with Dean Johnson seemingly shooting himself in the foot with Special Session, and the GOP, I am sure, hoping to get Mike Hatch into the Governor’s race (they know they can beat him), they seem to be trying to take shots at any other potential candidates that might be able to take on an increasingly lame Governor Pawlenty who is seeing his approval ratings drop substantially.

“Meanwhile, Hatch continues to not make any moves to suggest he is running, and time is beginning to run thin. Caucuses are in February, which would suggest a need for decisions to be made soon.”