DFLer Jeff Anderson has secured endorsements from a couple prominent Iron Range politicians in his bid to defeat U.S. Rep. Chip Cravaack next year in the 8th Congressional District.

Over the years, DFL campaigns for high-profile offices have had a tendency to blow past party endorsing conventions and end in contested primaries.

A pair of DFL state legislators from northeastern Minnesota, Rep. Carly Melin and Sen. Roger Reinert are supporting Duluth City Councilor Jeff Anderson's bid for Congress. Anderson is running in a contested field to win the nomination to defeat GOP Rep. Chip Cravaack in 2012.

Former Iron Range state Sen. George Perpich last night was among the hosts at a fundraiser for DFL Congressional candidate Rick Nolan. Perpich is among a growing number of Iron Rangers supporting Nolan.

“I have thought about and I’ve been asked and I guess I’m just keeping an open mind, at this point," Melin told the Star Tribune.

Winkler, a Bemidji native who had been considering moving back to his home town to make a run for the seat, announced his endorsement in a news release Tuesday morning. The endorsement comes just days after former state Sen. Tarryl Clark said she intends to run against Cravaack in 2012.

The long-awaited GOP map reshaping the state's Congressional districts was released Monday, and shows Republicans trying to protect newest House GOP star Chip Cravaack while isolating other DFL strongholds.

Ever since Republican U.S. Rep. Chip Cravaack's stunning upset in the 8th Congressional District last fall, Minnesota politicos have been drafting a list of DFLers who could possibly win back the seat in 2012. A DFL source says Lieutenant Gov. Yvonne Prettner Solon is considering a run.

Former Republican U.S. Sen. Rod Grams, who was ousted by DFL gubernatorial candidate Mark Dayton in 2000, will serve as interim chief of staff for 8th Congressional District Representative-elect Chip Cravaack.

A new KSTP/SurveyUSA poll shows a dead heat in the race for the Eighth Congressional District, with 18-term incumbent Democratic Rep. Jim Oberstar leading Republican challenger Chip Cravaack only 47 to 46.