It’s not too early to start campaigning for the Minnesota House. Case in point: One suburban seat already has three candidates jostling to go to the Legislature after next fall’s election. House District 53B covers part of the city of Woodbury in the southeastern suburbs, and its current representative, Republican Andrea Kieffer, recently decided she would not seek re-election next year.

The election of Steve Green marks one of the few bright spots for the Republican Party of Minnesota from the 2012 legislative elections. Facing a fundraising disparity and an uphill battle in terms of name recognition, Green managed to defeat former DFL Rep. Brita Sailer for the open seat in House District 2B.

GOP-aligned independent groups have rushed to fill the campaign spending gap that Republicans face in their battle for continued control of the Minnesota Legislature.