A national Republican group is hammering DFLers in three greater Minnesota congressional districts over the technical failures that have beset the rollout of the federal health insurance exchange.

True story: Collin Peterson used to have a tough time getting elected to Congress. It took Peterson four tries before he finally defeated Republican incumbent Arlan Stangeland in 1990. Then Peterson faced back-to-back challenges from Republican Bernie Omann. In 1992 and 1994, Peterson held his seat, defeating Omann by a combined tally of fewer than 9,000 votes.

U.S. Rep. Chip Cravaack landed high on the National Republican Campaign Committee’s ad spending selection list for the 2012 election. The major Beltway political publications published the air-time reservations placed by the House Republican's fundraising effort for the fall campaign.