Cross-posted from Minnesota Progressive Project
Former Congressman Rick Nolan's campaign to replace 8th District Representative Chip Cravaack picked up steam Thursday,with the Brainerd native receiving two key endorsements from Democratic-Farmer-Labor party leaders from different parts of the 8th District: Assistant House Minority Leader John Percell of Bemidji and former State Senator Becky Lourey of Kerrick.
Both Percell and Lourey stressed the importance of uniting behind one candidate in order to defeat Tea Party darling Chip Cravaack and emphasized the need for Nolan's experience and leadership in Washington to fight the right-wing assault on working people and our most vulnerable citizens.
Lourey expressed particular concern about the gridlock surrounding the debt ceiling and stressed the need for Nolan's expertise in finance:
Rick Nolan is telling the truth about the balanced approach we need to control the national debt. He’s absolutely right to insist on ending the Bush tax cuts for the wealthy, bringing wars of choice in the Middle East to a close, reducing our unnecessary military footprint around the world, cutting the Pentagon budget while protecting national security, and re-investing the trillions we’ll save into revitalizing America’s infrastructure and generating millions of new jobs in the process.
For Percell, one reason for supporting Nolan hit much closer to home - the need for someone who truly understands the 8th district and who will act in our best interests in Washington:
Rick Nolan was born and raised in the Eighth District. He lives here. His family lives here. He’s created jobs here. Rick will go to Washington and truly represent the people of the Eighth District.
Chip Cravaack doesn’t represent the Eighth District. He represents the Republican National Committee. That’s why he’s supported putting Medicare and Social Security on the budget chopping block, voted to cut millions of dollars from rural airports in Chisholm-Hibbing, International Falls and potentially in Brainerd and Bemidji. And that’s why he’s helping lead the T-Party war on people who belong to unions, dedicated public employees and the middle class.
These enthusiastic endorsements from two well-respected leaders in the 8th district speak to Nolan's strength as a candidate. State Representative Ryan Winkler, a Bemidji native, and former State Representative Tim Faust of Hinckley have also endorsed the Brainerd native. DFLers in northeastern Minnesota are anxious to replace the one-term Cravaack, and many are clearly seeing the path to victory lies with Rick Nolan.