Bluestem Prairie: news about Tim Walz (MN-1)

Tom Cole to House Republicans: NRCC doesn’t have enough cash to “save them”

UPDATE 5/8: Please check below the fold for new revelations in the case of  New York Republican Representative Vito Fosello, whose actions have suddenly put yet another GOP congressional seat into play. [end update]

In light of his lackluster Q1 fundraising, the MN-01 Republican congressional candidate endorsed by his party at the end of March stated that he thought national party leadership would come to his aid financially.

A flurry of recent articles suggests that scenario could be growing increasingly unlikely.

Yesterday, Politico reported GOP leaders warn of election disaster.  Dire news for incumbent House Republicans included such gems as:

Shellshocked House Republicans got warnings from leaders past and present Tuesday: Your party’s message isn’t good enough to prevent disaster in November, and neither is the NRCC’s money. . . .

. . .And in a closed-door session at the Capitol, National Republican Congressional Committee Chairman Tom Cole (R-Okla.) told members that the NRCC doesn’t have enough cash to “save them” in November if they don’t raise enough money or run strong campaigns themselves. . . .

. . .Cole’s overall message was clear, said members who sat through the meeting: “If you’re not out doing your own work, and you’re waiting for the NRCC to come in at the last minute and save you, it ain’t gonna happen.” That’s how one lawmaker characterized Cole’s talk, adding that the NRCC is “not going to have the resources” to help all members “and Democrats will have a lot more money.” . . .

If the NRCC can't help its endangered incumbent members who are unable to put together sufficient war chests, we can only wonder about pie-in-the-sky thinking on the part of  a candidate who faces a primary battle with thousands of dollars less than his better known primary opponent.   Neither Republican still standing had a cash on hand balance approaching $100,000 at the end of March, while Walz  had $1 million in the bank and no debts.

And then there's today's report, House GOP rallies at White House:

Seeking to put a spate of bad news behind them, House Republicans headed over to the White House on Wednesday morning, as members gathered for a rally with President Bush. . . .

. . ."It was a lovefest," said Rep. Steve LaTourette (R-Ohio) of the meeting with Bush.
Bush was introduced by House Minority Leader John A. Boehner (R-Ohio) and then took questions from members for about 45 minutes, according to GOP aides.

Given that George W. Bush is proving to be the most unpopular American president of modern times, we're hoping word of the bonding spreads from Preston to Pipestone, from Lake City to Luverne and all points in between.  That nice picture of Boehner and Bush should help.   

CQ  Politics reports in GOP tries to regroup:

Losses in two recent special elections combined with prospects for a tough contest next week sent House Republicans scrambling for change — both in words and deeds.

Minority Leader John A. Boehner told his caucus behind closed doors Tuesday that Americans won’t vote for Republicans until they fix their “brand” and convince voters they will fix Washington, according to members who were present.

An open question is whether that effort might also include changes at the National Republican Congressional Committee, which is led by Rep. Tom Cole  of Oklahoma.

Boehner has been unhappy with candidate recruitment and fundraising and angry about the embezzlement of funds by an insider.

Earlier this year, the NRCC discovered unauthorized wire transfers and belatedly learned that audits had not been conducted on its accounts for several years.

The committee ended 2006 with about $990,000 less than its balance sheet showed and ended 2007 with $740,000 less. The FBI is investigating.

Meanwhile, incumbent members have resisted paying their dues to the committee, and many retiring members have been slow to offer to transfer their excess cash — both signs of a lack of faith that victory can be had in November.

The trail of special-election defeats has fed discontent with the NRCC, the bluntest of which came from Newt Gingrich (1979-99), the former Speaker who helped win a Republican majority in 1994 for the first time in 40 years. . . .

Roll Call: Walz so far does not have significant challenge in 2008

Via Nexis, we go behind the subscription firewall at Roll Call and fish out this early-bird assessment about Minnesota's congressional battlegrounds in an article reviewing the Midwest:

1st district

Incumbent: Tim Walz (D)

1st term (53 percent)

Outlook: Likely Democratic

Freshman Walz so far does not appear to have a significant challenge on his hands for re-election in November, despite the Republican lean of his district.

Republicans had trouble settling on one of three candidates this spring. Even though the 1st district GOP endorsed Mayo Clinic physician Brian Davis, state Sen. Dick Day has decided to go against his party and run in the Republican primary on Sept. 9.

In other words, Republicans won’t have their candidate until after the summer and will have a primary on their hands in the meantime. Davis has shown that he’s willing to put his own money into the race, but Day has the benefit of being an elected official.

In a district like this, a GOP primary fight works to Walz’s advantage.

While Davis may have put a bit of money in, it's doubtful that he'll be able to front the sort of bucks that will overcome Walz's enormous cash advantage.   We've noticed that the Walz campaign has held a number of wildly successful fundraisers since the Q1 deadline on March 31, while Davis's campaign is publicly quiet about whatever efforts it may be conducting.

And unlike earlier quarters, there was no press release posted at the Davis blog or by various Republican proxies about Davis's quarterly fundraising, just rather hollow explanations by the candidate to the district press about how the candidate couldn't woo 160 delegates and significant dollars at the same time.

Those who wish to help Walz, either by contributing, or by joining his growing grassroots army, should visit the campaign's web site to learn more.

It's not as if the First is the only congressional battle in the state. The GOP has its hands full, after all.  Roll Call's assessments for the Third and the Sixth:

3rd district

Open seat: Jim Ramstad (R)

is retiring

Outlook: Tossup

Ramstad’s retirement is a major opportunity for Democrats, who have been salivating over his district for years. While this suburban district leans slightly to the right in presidential elections, Ramstad, a moderate, always won by large margins.

Republicans settled early on their nominee: state Rep. Erik Paulsen, a longtime member of the Legislature who so far has boasted great fundraising numbers. However, insiders see him as more conservative than Ramstad, and that could come into play in the general election.

Democrats initially had three candidates going for the nomination, but the party in April endorsed attorney and Iraq War veteran Ashwin Madia. Early on in the race, it appeared that state Sen. Terri Bonoff (D) was going to get her party’s nod, but Madia came from behind with a lot of grass-roots support to win the nomination at the 3rd district convention.

Unlike Paulsen, Madia is fairly untested as a candidate. In the end, the candidate that appears the most moderate — and the most like Ramstad — likely will take this district in one of the most competitive races in the country this cycle.

6th district

Incumbent: Michele Bachmann (R)

1st term (50 percent)

Outlook: Likely Republican

Freshman Bachmann might have an easier time winning this time around, but it may not be of her own doing. Bachmann has made at least two well-publicized gaffes since taking office in 2007.

Democrats have chosen former state Transportation Commissioner Elwyn Tinklenberg as their candidate this cycle, and he’s more conservative than 2006 Democratic nominee Patty Wetterling. The two Democrats also ran against each other in the 2006 nomination battle.

It’s possible that the 6th district might still be too conservative for a Democrat to take it. But if any Democrat is conservative enough to win, it’s Tinklenberg.

Interesting.  Now we know why the Republican Party of Minnesota uses the Ron Carey Press Release Template.

And we don't look for Steve Sarvi's campaign to slumber in the Second.  Rather, should the Iraq War veteran raise significant funds this quarter, the race will be a sleeper that could yield a November surprise for John Kline. Kline's COH is half that held by Walz or Bachmann, and, like Bachmann, Kline is playing absentee representative.

The Big E tells readers how to help Sarvi in the MN-02:  Steve Sarvi - Post-DFL-endorsement interview.  We've met Steve, he's a good guy, pretty down to earth and informed.

For an earlier Roll Call assessment on MN-01, see our post Roll Call: "Republicans failed to recruit a top-notch candidate to face Walz". Update: via the Minnesota Monitor, The Rothenberg Report rates MN-01 as "leans Democratic." 

Saturday noon news digest: spring plowing edition

It's a great sunny day, so we're headed out to Swan Lake, Fort Ridgely and the Minnesota River Valley for some afternoon birding as soon as this is up. We hope the sun will dry the fields enough for the farmers to start working.

Not all farmers are doing great. The Post Bulletin reports that USDA to buy surplus pork:

Aiming to boost a sagging American pork market, Agriculture Secretary Ed Schafer has committed to $50 million in emergency pork purchases.

The pork products will be used for child nutrition and other domestic foods assistance programs.

On April 10, U.S. Rep. Tim Walz sent a letter to Schafer, urging him to make the purchases to help pork producers, who are being squeezed by high expenses and low hot prices.

"These purchases will help to stabilize hog prices and mitigate the economic losses faced by our producers in southern Minnesota," Walz said Friday.

The ag secretary has the power, under a law passed during the Great Depression, to purchase surplus commodities to support farm prices.

Minnesota's First Congressional District, in the southeast corner of the state, ranks second in the United States in pork production with more than 2,500 pork producers raising 9 million hogs a year. The industry employs 22,500 Minnesotans. . . .

Whether you're buying meat direct from a farmer, from a co-op or at the grocery store, try these roasted pork enchiladas. Mmmmm. These days, it's easy to find queso fresco cheese at any grocery store, though many Minnesotans' taste buds may favor the Monterey Jack.  BTW, Farmers' Markets are opening today throughout Southern Minnesota. In Winona, Scone Lady’ adds flavor to local farmers market. We may have to wait a week or two for asparagus.

And probably that long for the details of the Farm Bill coming out of conference committee. Minnesota Public Radio reports in Farm Bill agreement in hand:

A congressional conference committee will be working through the weekend in an effort to finalize a $300 billion Farm Bill. The legislation pays for farm subsidies conservation, alternative energy, and nutrition programs for the next five years. The process has been contentious and may end with a showdown between Congress and the President. . . .

. . .Peterson expects the Farm Bill to be on the House floor next week. It's expected to have strong bi-partisan support in both the House and Senate.

U.S. Rep. Earl Pomeroy (D-N.D.) is also on the conference committee crafting the final legislation. He says there's been a good faith effort to work with the president, now it's time for a showdown.

"We want the White House to sign this bill, we're trying to accommodate their concerns. But if they don't, this bill will have the full participation by both political parties as it passes the House and Senate," Pomeroy says. "We believe we're going to have a level of support where if veto override is what it takes, veto override is what we're going to give them."

Farmers, conservation groups and social service agencies will all be watching closely as that showdown happens sometime in the next two weeks.

KTTC-TV reports Disabled Veterans Meet in Rochester for the group's annual convention.

Congressman Walz will hold an economic summit in Mankato on June 2.

This event will feature thought-provoking discussions and panels on the most important economic issues facing Southern Minnesota and the country. The Summit offers an opportunity to have a regional conversation about the kind of community, State and Nation we are striving for. The event will gather academic leaders, industry experts, the business community, local residents and policy experts to discuss and debate issues of importance to us all.

When: Monday June 2, 2008

Where:    Alltel Convention Center,  Mankato, MN

The Summit Agenda:

7:15: Registration opens

8:00– 8:15 Welcome by Congressman Tim Walz

8:15 – 8:45 An Analysis of Minnesota’s Economic and Demographic Trends and Outlook?

8:45 – 9:00 Building a Competitive Advantage for Rural Regions/p>

9:00 – 10:15 Panel #1: Healthcare

10:15 – 11:45 Panel #2: Early Childhood and K-12 Education

11:45 – 12:45 Lunch and Keynote Address by U.S. Congressman Tim Walz

12:45 – 2:00 Panel #3: Higher Education

2:00 – 3:15 Panel #4: “Agriculture and Energy: Energizing Rural Economic Growth”

3:15 – 4:30 Capitalizing on our Regional Competitiveness

The event is free and open to the public, although the lunch meal is $15. A registration form is here (Word doc).

Michael Travers' letter to the editor, Walz has earned support for second term, has been published in the Mankato Free Press and the New Ulm Journal. The New Ulm resident writes:

Last weekend, the DFL endorsed Tim Walz as its candidate for Congress in the First District.

Walz deserves to be re-elected for a second term. He has been a fresh breath of air in an otherwise business as usual government. To Walz, good ideas come from both sides of the aisle; from people like you and me.

Walz is a true representative of the people of his district. You and I may not agree on every issue with Walz, but one thing is for sure, Walz will listen.

As a family man, Walz gets it. As you hear his wife, Gwen, speak she’ll tell you that each time she comes home from the grocery store or the gas station she’ll remind him of the price of a gallon of milk or a gallon of gas. The pride he has in his family is evident by the smile on his face.

As a former teacher and coach, Walz understands the importance of the issues that face young people everyday and the impact the decisions we make today will have on their future.

This time, the first congressional district has a keeper. This time, the first congressional district has the representation of a man who is genuine, committed, and will not forget that it is a privilege to serve as your representative.

Congratulations to Irma Marguez of St. James, who has been selected Minnesota's Homecoming Queen.

The Olmsted County DFL will hold its Fifth Annual Dinner tonight in Rochester.

At the Bulldog: Twin Cities Young Professionals for Walz

A campaign event tonight in Minneapolis for Congressman Walz's supporters:

Join other young professionals and Tim at the Bulldog in NE Minneapolis this Thursday, May 1st. Come enjoy a cold pint, good food and great friends!

Thursday, May 1st, 7-9 pm
The Bulldog Northeast
401 East Hennepin Ave
(Northeast MPLS across the street from Whitey's)

And yeah, the Strib reports that Representative Walz is running for Congress:

A spokesman for U.S. Rep. Tim Walz, whose name has also been raised in DFL circles as a potential Senate alternative, denied that the congressman was thinking of a switch from a House reelection bid. "He will not be a candidate for the U.S. Senate," said Richard Carlbom, the campaign's political and finance director.

Come and help the Congressman build his campaign coffers. For the House.

Who put the "front" in frontiers; or, the one about those robocalls in the First

Several kind readers gave us the heads-up yesterday about a fundraising email that the Walz campaign sent out.  Like Kristin Gillibrand before him, Tim Walz has been hit by robocalls to his constituents asking him to support retroactive immunity for telecoms.

The appeal began:

A group calling themselves “Frontiers of Freedom” is calling voters in southern Minnesota. . . .

The group is telling voters to urge me to support retroactive immunity for telecommunications companies that participated in the President’s illegal wiretapping program. They want me to cave in to the President’s demands.

Despite the pressure, I refuse to give these phone companies a free pass. I won’t let President Bush decide when he can break the law. . . .

Readers asked us to look into the Frontiers of Freedom Foundation  (FOFF) to see what the group was about.  Posting has been light here on the Prairie while we combed through news articles and reports about the group.

While one interest of FOFF founder chair Malcolm Wallop placed him near the heart of one of former House Majority Leader Tom Delay's  less excellent adventures in Malaysia,this post will focus on FOFF's recent work for telecoms, since the calls brought up immunity.

Common Cause wrote about FOF when it was carrying telecoms'  water as they sought to break into the cable market:

Frontiers of Freedom is a think tank that advocates a free market, deregulatory approach to public policy.^[37]  It operates six policy groups, including a Center for Economic Liberty and Property Rights which handles telecommunications policy.

Frontiers of Freedom does not disclose its financial backers, but the Wall Street Journal reported in 2001 that the organization's main contributors were corporations such as Philip Morris, ExxonMobil and RJ Reynolds Tobacco.^[38] At the time, Frontiers of Freedom lobbied heavily against environmental regulations designed to reduce global warming,^[39] and also railed against plaintiffs who sued the tobacco companies after contracting lung cancer from smoking.^[40]

More recently, the Larstan Business Group accused Frontiers of Freedom of engaging in Astroturf lobbying on behalf of the telephone companies.^[41]  Larstan's report, it should be noted, was commissioned by the National Cable and Telecommunications Association,^[42] the main trade association for the cable television industry.

The report points out that Frontiers of Freedom has flip-flopped from being a critic of the telephone industry, to being one of its champions.  According to Larstan, in 2004, Frontiers of Freedom lambasted "the Bell monopolies" for not "do[ing] any of the heavy-lifting normally associated with a free market,"^[43] and instead relying on government regulation to build their business. But in 2005, the organization praised the merger of AT&T and SBC Communications^[44] - two of the telephone industries biggest players - and also endorsed^[45] the Bell-backed regulations designed to ease their entry into the cable television business.  Qwest Communications has alleged that Frontiers of Freedom accepts contributions from AT&T.[46]

And then there's the FOFF's involvement in opposing net neutrality as a partner in the Hands off the Internet campaign. PRWatch gave the industry and its shills (including FOFF) a Bronze Falsie for Neutralizing Net Neutrality:

In two reports, Common Cause exposed more than a dozen front groups for telephone and cable companies. These groups hide their industry ties and often "claim to represent huge numbers of citizens, but in reality their public support is minimal or nonexistent," Common Cause wrote. Such campaigns "deliberately mislead citizens, and they deliberately mislead our lawmakers, who are already charged with the difficult task of making sense of complex telecommunications policies."

A frequent target of the telecom front groups is net neutrality, the principle that Internet providers should not favor some content and applications over others. Industry-funded groups with nice-sounding names like Hands Off the Internet, FreedomWorks, Consumers for Cable Choice, Progress and Freedom Foundation and Frontiers of Freedom claim that net neutrality would increase costs and reduce choices for consumers. Verizon Communications hired pollsters to conduct a misleading opinion survey purporting to show that consumers oppose net neutrality. One leading poll question asked respondents which is more important: "the benefits of new TV and video choice" and "lower prices for cable TV," or "barring high speed internet providers from offering specialized services ... for a fee"? The National Journal reported that telecom companies were spending $850,000 per week to attack net neutrality in advertisements placed "anywhere a congressional staffer is likely to be — including the Washington area transit system" and "at Washington's Ronald Reagan National Airport."

Oh boy!  FOFF is so worried about freedom for telecoms Internet users. Just to remind everybody about Net Neutrality, we're swiping a YouTube from the Save the Internet Coalition:

Closer to home, on April 8, Andy Birkey at the Minnesota Monitor wrote about yet another coalition FOFF was working on in Phony 'grassroots' telecom industry group pushes back against cell phone reforms.
Birkey reported Mywireless.org was a blended brew of industry:

Though dominated by CTIA, the Mywireless.org coalition comprises more than 30 organizations that include 16 chambers of commerce along with sharply right-wing organizations such as the American Conservative Union, Center for Individual Freedom and Frontiers of Freedom. Mywireless.org has also spread its coins generously among some of the pillars of the anti-tax, anti-regulation right through its "grants."  . . .

It's hard to separate the wires of ideological and corporate interest here, but FOFF's concern for national security has tended more toward pimping missile shield defenses over wiretapping. In fact, in the 1990s, the group fought against President Clinton's attempt to expand the government's powers to wiretap following the first World Trade Center bombings and Oklahoma City (see the text below the fold).

Sourcewatch and ExxonSecrets have more on FOFF. Why, it looks like another center of interest for FOFF is denying the link between human activity and climate change;  The Science and Public Policy Institute (formerly the Center for Science and Public Policy) also takes on those who think mercury being released into the environment might be a bad thing.  We could swear we've seen these cats cited already in First District energy policy discussions. 

Telecom and oil company money being used to influence public opinion in Southern Minnesota? Who'd have thunk it? Isn't this debate supposed to be about the global war on terrorism? Or trial lawyers? Or....maybe this what congressman Walz means when he's says he's been representing his constituents rather than outside special interests.

Maybe the calls are simply about telecom immunity. 

BREAKING NEWS! WALZ ENDORSED BY FIRST DISTRICT DFL

We're not at the First District DFL convention this day, but have heard that Congressman Walz was endorsed in Albert Lea in his bid for re-election. Rumor has it that he has no primary challenger, wide name recognition, and $1 million cash on hand.

Developing....

Evening update: war and remembrance

Congressman Walz was on Air America last night to talk about reports of the Bush administration concealing information about military suicides.

April 28 is Workers Memorial Day, and the Mankato Trade Unions held a service to honor the eight members they lost in the last year to accidents and work-related illness, KEYC-TV reports. Congressman Walz, a member of Education Minnesota, participated.  Video available.

Congressman Walz has signed the American Cancer Society's Congressional Cancer Promise. His father died of cancer when Walz was still in his teens. Senators Coleman and Klobuchar, along with all of Minnesota's House members, save Bachmann and Kline, have signed the promise.

North Star Politics is back and analyzing like it never left.  See a Walz mention in Pawlenty Cozies Up to Fat Cats.

Update: The Pipestone Star reports that the DFL first district convention [is] tomorrow. [end update]

And now, on this damp, cold, and sadly, snowy night, we are going to do just that with Oscar de la Hoya and the Big Boo Boo, our favorite fat cats.  Good night, and good luck.

A tale of two conventions: shadowy traces on a gym wall

While the Republican Party tries to draw comparisons between Walz's strategic position in 2008 and former Gil Gutknecht's at this point in the 2006 race, the contrast between the two is far greater than any similarities.

For not only did Walz have roughly $340,000 more cash in hand at the end of  Q1 2008 than Gutknecht had at the end of Q1 2006, Walz vastly outraised of over his Republican competitors combined in this past quarter. By way of contrast, Walz outraised Gutknecht in Q12006,  a trend that would continue.

Moreover, Gutknecht was so confident that no one was losing any sleep over Walz that he skipped his own endorsing convention in 2006, according to a Post-Bulletin article we found via Lexis-Nexis:

May 8--SIOUX VALLEY, Minn. -- It might have been a bit unorthodox for a candidate not to be present at his own endorsing convention, but it didn't alter the outcome.

U.S. Rep. Gil Gutknecht was unanimously endorsed as the Republican Party's candidate for the First Congressional District.

A spokesman for Gutknecht said a scheduling conflict prevented the six-term congressman from attending the convention on Saturday. He was to serve as host to members of the Canadian Parliament in Charleston, S.C., at the same time that the endorsing event was held.

Instead of a flesh-and-blood incumbent, the more than 150 delegates who attended the convention at Sioux Valley Lutheran Secondary School, about 130 miles west of Rochester, had to content themselves with a video of Gutknecht projected on the wall of the darkened gymnasium. . . .[Post-Bulletin, "Gutknecht misses own endorsement," 5/8/2006]

Not so for Representative Walz. He'll be in Albert Lea tomorrow for his endorsement, knowing as he does that his grassroots campaign will need the help of DFL activists and others standing beside him. As the Rochester Post Bulletin reported earlier, the gathered Democrats will be voting for hotly-contested delegate spots at the national convention in Denver, so tomorrow's turn out should be strong.

Why, we even anticipate that some Republicans will show up for the excitement.

And since the Walz campaign is taking nothing for granted--not even the $1 million in cash reserves--a fundraising dinner will follow the convention.

Roll Call: "Republicans failed to recruit a top-notch candidate to face Walz"

Looking in Lexis-Nexis for a Roll Call article about Republicans pressuring conservative Democrats on FISA legislation, we came across this tidbit in an article about Nancy Pelosi's visit to Minnesota on Monday:

Despite the district's GOP lean, Republicans failed to recruit a top-notch candidate to face Walz this cycle. What's more, the local GOP has a primary fight on its hands between its endorsed candidate, Mayo Clinic physician Brian Davis, and state Sen. Dick Day. The winner of the Sept. 9 primary will face Walz in November.

We suspect that the not "top-notch" designation for the GOP candidates in the First has something to do with this stuff.

[Update]: Or maybe it's the stuff The Blueman can notice, but the Star Tribune seems unable to bring itself to admit.

Note: We lengthened the headline on this post shortly after we first published it, in order to clarify which contest we meant.

Not RealClearPolitics: "interesting" FEC reports

We'll file this one on "interesting" FEC reports in the Upper Mississippi Valley from Real Clear Politics in the "Huh?" department, with a cross reference to "Lipstick on a pig":

-- Minnesota 01: . . .Walz has raised $1.6 million to keep his seat and retains just over $1 million in the bank. His main opponents have much smaller bank accounts after battling for the GOP nod; Republican activist Brian Davis, a doctor at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester who won the party's nomination, has raised $222,000 and still has $50,000 in the bank, while State Senator Dick Day has raised $226,000 and retained just $72,000. They will face each other in the primary in September. The winner will face a steep climb against Walz in November, but the Republican National Convention could provide the victor a good opportunity to raise a lot of money.

That's some not-so-clear writing. Brian Davis's  "has raised $222,000 and still has $50,000 in the bank" while Day "has raised $226,000 and retained just $72,000."   "Just" $72,000!  "Still" $50,000. Sounds like Davis is in the catbird seat.

Let's see what we can to make those modifiers clarfiy rather than obscure the facts. Davis raised "just" $4,000 less than than Day, but "still" ended the quarter with $22,000 less in the bank, not to mention the $10,000 in unpaid campaign debts Davis has yet to pay. Oh, we see the Real Clear summary didn't.

And as for the victor in the primary raising "a lot of money" at the Republican Convention, that's a puzzling thought. There won't yet be a primary winner during the Republican National Convention,  which runs from September 1-4, since Minnesota's primary takes on September 9.  Moreover, Davis has the party endorsement, but the primary itself decides the nomination.

Will the GOP candidates be up in St. Paul  with hat in hand in the week before the primary, or will they be slugging it out in Southern Minnesota? Moreover, during the national gathering, neither Davis nor Day (or his allies if he's barred from the event) will be the only congressional candidates carrying begging bowls in a cash-strapped year.

Given his limited name recognition compared to Senator Day, Davis would need money now to win the primary itself.  Several friends with years of dealing with Day from across the aisle have noted that it's never safe to count the state senator from Owatonna out.

Moreover, given the fact that the Walz campaign itself isn't taking anything for granted (unlike some friendly bloggers), the DFL candidate's rainmaking should continue unabated. Whichever Republican candidate wins the September primary, it's likely that he will have a larger gap than ever to fill.