Two years ago Foung Hawj was an also-ran in the Senate District 67 contest. In a nine-candidate DFL primary field, he finished with 10 percent of the vote — more than 20 points behind the winner, former St. Paul Police Chief John Harrington.

If the level of political activity on St. Paul's East Side is any indication, voter turnout in Senate District 67 will not be low. At intersections all over the district, there are people holding signs promoting Cha Yang, Foung Hawj and other challengers in the nine-candidate DFL field.

While the gubernatorial campaigns and the legislative caucuses are attracting most of the money and attention in the current election cycle, legislative candidates in competitive districts are also getting some measure of love from the PAC donors who have weighed in with their first finance reports of 2010.

When Kathy Lantry’s mom was growing up in the Dayton’s Bluff neighborhood of St. Paul in the 1940s, the Sacred Heart Church held Masses in both English and German. Today the Roman Catholic parish still conducts Mass in a pair of languages, but the non-English service has changed to Spanish.

State Sen. Mee Moua's unexpected decision not to seek a third term at the Capitol set off a political frenzy in the St. Paul district that she represents. Ultimately nine DFL candidates jumped into the fray, setting up a confusing August 10 primary. Look for a longer piece about the contest on PIM's web site later today, but here's thumbnail sketches of the contenders:

Stonewall DFL, the party's gay and lesbian caucus, has endorsed Avi Viswanathan in the Senate District 67 contest. Viswanathan is among 11 candidates seeking to replace retiring Sen. Mee Moua, who has represented the St. Paul district since 2002.

The last-minute retirement of Sen. Mee Moua, DFL-St. Paul, coupled with the decision of SD 67 Democrats to make no endorsement in the race to replace her, has made for a nine-person primary race in the district. The candidates (drum roll, please): John M. Harrington, Foung Hawj (Heu), Tom Hilber, Chai Lee, Vang T. Lor, Jim McGowan, Trayshana P. Thomas, Avi Viswanathan and Cha Yang. Is it the state's biggest primary field ever? No.

St. Paul Police Chief John Harrington filed today to run for the state Senate seat being vacated by Mee Moua. He is the fifth DFL candidate to officially join the race to represent St. Paul's East Side.

There will be no DFL endorsement prior to the primary contest to take over state Sen. Mee Moua's seat. The decision to forgo an endorsing convention was reached at a gathering of Senate District 67 Democrats last night. That means it will likely be a wide-open primary in the East Side St. Paul district.