Minnesota Lawyer
King Banaian
Fundraising numbers are by no means the end all-be all indicator of a candidate’s electoral success, but some recently released campaign finance reports reveal startling figures that could point to several GOP takeovers in the state House.
Stat-head blogger Tony Angelo has a more comprehensive version of this list at his blog minn-Donkey.
In House District 15B, retiring state Rep. Larry Haws, DFL-St. Cloud, has won re-election by no less than 30 percentage points each time, but GOPer King Banaian is out raising DFLer Carol Lewis 5 to 1 in the race to replace him. Banaian has pulled in $25,000 this year to Lewis’ $5,000.
There’s a similar situation over in District 57, which covers Cottage Grove, Newport, South St. Paul and St. Paul Park. In House district 57A, Democratic Rep. Karla Bigham won with more than 58 percent of the vote in 2008. But GOP candidate John Kriesel, an Iraq War veteran, has raised a staggering $45,000 to DFLer Jen Peterson’s $8,000. A lot of that money has come in from out of state donors – including Karl Rove – on Kriesel’s behalf.
Fundraising numbers are also less than sunny for some DFL incumbents who won their seats by narrow margins last election in Republican-leaning districts. DFL Rep. Phil Sterner in 37B won with a narrow 51.8 percent of the vote in 2008, and his GOP opponent, Kurt Bills, is out raising him $21,000 to $11,000. The situation is similar for Rep. Dave Olin in 01A, a district that has swung for national Republican candidates. GOPer Dan Fabian has raised $21,000 to Olin’s $7,500.
As Republican state Rep. Matt Dean put it, the race for House District 12B is no “tickle contest.” Most GOP and DFL insiders know this will be a tough election for incumbent DFLer Al Doty, especially when his rematch opponent, Mike LeMieur, has brought in $16,000 to Doty’s $8,000. Doty barely beat LeMieur in 2008. Democratic Rep. Paul Rosenthal is also in a tight race for re-election in House District 41B, with GOPer Pat Mazorol out raising him $31,000 to $21,000.
Some presumably-safe GOPers should watch out too. In House District 43A, state GOP Rep. Sarah Anderson has raised $7,000, while her DFL opponent, Audrey Britton, has taken in about $17,000. Anderson won her election in 2008 by almost 10 percentage points, but Britton is more than doubling her bankroll and the district swung for President Barack Obama in 2008. Another fundraising head-turner is in the race for House District 32A, where House Minority Leader Kurt Zellers currently reigns supreme. While the district heavily favors Republicans, his DFL opponent Katie Rodriguez has out raised him $17,000 to $13,000.
