Minnesota Lawyer
Rick Nolan (Staff photos: Peter Bartz-Gallagher)
Rick Nolan raised $135,000 in the second quarter of 2013 and ended June with less than $200,000 in the bank. The first-term DFL incumbent is expected to face a vigorous challenge in the 8th Congressional District.
The lone GOP candidate in the contest so far, Stewart Mills, only established his campaign committee on July 10 and was not required to submit a second quarter fundraising report with the Federal Election Commission. Mills is an executive with his family’s chain of 32 retail outlets.
John Kline took in $475,000 during the second quarter and reported $1.1 million cash on hand. The six-term incumbent chairs the Education and Workforce Committee. The Center for Responsive Politics reported that nearly a quarter of Kline’s contribution ($116,000) came from political committees operated by for-profit universities or top executives at those companies.
Former DFL state legislator Mike Obermueller is challenging Kline for the second consecutive cycle. He lost by 8 percentage points in 2012. Obermueller raised $130,000 in the second quarter and reported $93,000 in the bank.
Kline is also facing a GOP challenger, David Gerson, for the second consecutive cycle. But Gerson – who identifies with the libertarian wing of the party — raised less than $3,000 in the second quarter and had just $5,000 in the bank. In addition, his campaign committee had debts of nearly $70,000, all of it in the form of loans from the candidate.
Erik Paulsen had the largest haul of any member of Minnesota’s congressional delegation. The four-term incumbent took in nearly $500,000 in the second quarter and finished June with $1.3 million in the bank. No DFL challenger has emerged to taken on Paulsen. Despite representing a swing district, which Barack Obama carried in 2012, he won his last re-election bid by more than 15 percentage points.
Tim Walz raised just over $200,000 in the second quarter, but had less than that amount in the bank. The four-term incumbent represents a swing district in southern Minnesota, but won re-election by 15 percentage points in 2012. State Rep. Mike Benson is the lone GOP challenger so far in the 1st Congressional District. His fundraising report hadn’t been posted on the Federal Election Commission web site as of Tuesday morning.
Collin Peterson raised just under $100,000, the bulk of it coming from agricultural interests. He had just over $200,000 cash on hand at the end of June. Peterson is the ranking minority member of the House Agriculture Committee. The 7th Congressional District tilts strongly Republican, with the Cook Partisan Voting Index giving GOP candidates a 6 percentage point generic advantage. But Peterson is serving his 13th term and has won by double digits in each of the last 10 election cycles.
Keith Ellison took in $190,000 and had $140,000 cash on hand. Representing the state’s most liberal district, Ellison is unlikely to face a credible challenger in 2014.
Betty McCollum had the most lackluster numbers of any member of Minnesota’s congressional delegation. She took in less than $60,000 and had a similar sum in the bank. In 2012, the seven-term incumbent won re-election by more than 30 percentage points.
