Minnesota Lawyer
Connie Doepke (Staff photo: Peter Bartz-Gallagher)
Republican Rep. Connie Doepke is under attack from a second conservative independent group in her bid to replace retiring Sen. Gen Olson. Americans for Prosperity Minnesota recently sent out a piece linking Doepke to President Barack Obama and his signature health care legislation in a district that votes overwhelmingly Republican.
“Obamacare is bad medicine,” it reads. “Yet, Representative Connie Doepke refused to help fight it.” (See the lit piece here.)
The piece hit mailboxes just as voters are set to cast ballots Tuesday in one of the most closely watched primary contests in the state. Doepke faces Mound City Council member David Osmek, who has the GOP endorsement. The mailing’s claims are purportedly based on the fact that Doepke was not among a group of legislators who signed on to a brief opposing the national health care legislation.
But Doepke says she has no recollection of ever being offered the opportunity to sign on to such a document. “I have been adamantly opposed to ObamaCare from day one,” Doepke tells PIM. “I’m not in any way shape or form a supporter of a government takeover of our health care.”
The Doepke campaign is considering taking legal action on the matter.
Americans for Prosperity, which is poised to be a significant player in Minnesota this year for the first time, is the second conservative independent group to target Doepke. The Freedom Club State PAC previously sent out a series of mailings suggesting that Doepke supported wasteful spending on bird habitats in foreign countries.
The primary contest in Senate District 33 has arguably been the most rancorous in the state. Doepke previously faced criticism for a mailing that strongly suggested U.S. Rep. Erik Paulsen supported her candidacy, despite the fact that he’s backing Osmek. According to an analysis by Common Cause Minnesota, the district has a + 23 GOP index.
