While the NRCC in Washington has been touting Randy Demmer as a "Young Gun," there's little to be seen in the district to illustrate this support. A recent drive through Nicollet County, to Highway 14 from Mankato to Owatonna, revealed a paucity of Demmer campaign signs, as did an earlier trip down Highway 15 to Fairmont and then east on I-90.
In fact, Independence Party candidate Steve Wilson matches Demmer in signage on Highway 14 east of Mankato.
My google alerts tell a similar story. While there's buzz for Demmer coming from Twin Cities conservatives and Beltway-based journalists, the crickets are louder than the Demmer stories in the local press. Meanwhile, the alerts about Walz tend to be news from media in the First, talking about the congressman's new bills, endorsements from such groups as the VFW-PAC and the NRA-ILA, and meetings with veterans, small business owners, and, more recently, work with communities stricken by the flood.
Thus, I'm not at all surprised that the NRCC chose to reveal the true value of its Young Guns program by placing Seventh District candidate Lee Byberg in the "on the radar" first tier of candidates.
A friend quipped that her grandmother could get on the list if she filed as a Republican. I suggested in response that both of my grandmothers could as well, though it's rather unlikely that either will do so. And while Byberg has cash, as a Seventh District resident, I'm not seeing a pulse there, either-- or a strong sense of constitutional history.
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