Minnesota Lawyer
Allen Quist
At least five Republicans are seeking to challenge U.S. Rep. Tim Walz in the First Congressional District. GOP activists will gather in Mankato on Saturday to determine which candidate gets the party’s endorsement.
State Rep. Randy Demmer, GOP-Hayfield, and former state Rep. Allen Quist have garnered the most attention in the build-up to the convention. Demmer got a boost this week when former Gov. Al Quie announced in a letter that he was supporting him.
Quist, who ran unsuccessfully for governor in 1994 and 1998, is still revered by the Christian conservative wing of the party.
Also in the mix is Jim Hagedorn, whose father once held the congressional seat. He spent more than two decades working in various legislative positions in Washington before settling in Blue Earth County last year.
Minnesota National Guard veteran Jim Engstrand, who just returned from Iraq in February, is also running a vigorous campaign. The final challenger, Frank McKinzie, is less active.
“I’ve never seen a time when there’s been so much enthusiasm in the rank and file,” says Steve Perkins, chair of the first district GOP. “They are just excited to the core.”
Perkins cites three Walz votes — supporting the health care bill, the stimulus package and cap-and-trade legislation — as particularly troubling to residents of the district. Perkins doesn’t believe that the fact that Walz won re-election by 30 percentage points in 2008 should suggest that he is safe.
“Gutknecht won by a lot of big margins too,” he notes, referring to the six-term GOP incumbent whom Walz ousted in 2006. “I think the first district has shown itself to be fairly independent.”
The Fourth Congressional District is a DFL stronghold. U.S. Rep. Betty McCollum has won re-election by at least 25 percentage points in every contest since first winning the seat in 2000. But Republicans are nonetheless claiming that this will be the year they gain a toehhold in the district.
At least three challengers are expected to vie for the party’s endorsement at Saturday’s convention in Vadnais Heights. University of St. Thomas law professor Teresa Collett and financial services business owner Brad Lee look to be the strongest contenders. Also in the mix is Newport farmer Gene Rechtzigel. A fourth challenger, Joe Blum, is expected to drop out of consideration after suffering significant injuries in a car accident last month.
“What the people are saying is, ‘If not now, when?'” Fourth CD chair Bev Aplikowski notes. “They think that Betty is vulnerable.”
