Reading through the Strib this morning (the Minneapolis Star Tribune for those of you not from Minnesota or western Wisconsin), I found a couple stories on the Senate open seat. The first was a general overview of the activity over potential candidates announcing. Rod Grams will run for sure, however good ol' Norm Coleman is backing Rep. Mark Kennedy (who's set to have an announcement at 11am CST), saying the GOP should unite behind one candidate and expecting the Democrats to have a "donnybrook" in deciding their person. Other MN GOPers are also taking about how they need to unite behind Kennedy, while there's no talk on the DFL side about one candidate or another. Not that any Democrat seems to be a clear favorite right now, anyway.
Here's the link to that Strib story:
http://www.startribune.com/stories/587/5234596.html
So should the DFL pull together behind one cadidate and focus on holding the GOP at bay, or should they just hold on through the primary? Yes, primaries are the ultimate forum for deciding, but unless Grams gives Kennedy a serious challenge (and he very well could), the GOP could skate through to the general without much spending while the Dems use up their money in the primary. For that matter, if the DFL is to pick a preferred candidate early, who should it be?
Once again, the Star Tribune has a story, this one on who's in the race, who's on the fence, and who's out. According to the story, among other names, Amy Klobuchar & Mike Ciresi are expected to run. Mike Hatch, Alan Page, Matt Entenza, R.T. Rybak, Randy Kelly, Judi Dutcher, Ted Mondale & Al Franken are out, as well as Tim Pawlenty & Arne Carlson on the GOP side. Strangely, a day after saying Buck Humphrey is not interested, he's now "thinking about it." A lot of other names in that undecided category; here's the link:
http://www.startribune.com/stories/587/5234284.html