Back in July, Star Tribune business columnist Evan Ramstad wrote in New Minnesota business lobby is unapologetically partisan:
. . .Its first political goal is to end the Democratic trifecta in the Legislature and governor's office, [Jim] Schultz said. That means flipping six seats in the Minnesota House to Republican control in the 2024 election. Senate seats and the governor's office won't be on the ballot until the 2026 election.
The group will look for candidates who can persuade independent and some Democratic-leaning voters that the financial costs of the DFL's trifecta are too high, Schultz said. . . .
That goal was clearly on the agenda on Monday night in sunny Marshall, Minnesota, where Schultz was the keynote speaker at the Lyon County Republican Fall Dinner. Deb Gau reports for the Marshall Independent in ‘We’ve got to turn it around’; Former AG candidate Schultz calls for Republicans to win back House majority (italics in original copy):
Discussion topics at the Lyon County Republicans’ annual fall dinner covered a lot of ground, from the economy to new laws passed this year. But the speeches all came back to one thing: winning back a majority in the Minnesota House of Representatives. . . .
. . . Schultz said a state House majority was the first step in setting up the possibility of a Republican trifecta in 2026.
“The Minnesota Senate’s not up until 2026, the governorship’s not up until 2026. So what we can do in the interim is win the Minnesota House, and that will put a brake on the Tim Walz crazy train,” Schultz said.
“We have to net just four seats statewide, and we can do that,” Schultz told the audience. “There’s a seat in Mankato, not too far from here, that Democrats have that’s very winnable. You can win a seat over in Northfield, a seat in St. Cloud, a seat up on the Iron Range that’s very winnable, so we can do that. We have to get it done.” . . .
Which DFLers serve in those seats?
Mankato
Mankato? He might mean Luke Frederick (18B, DFL), a second term House member who won with 60.13 percent of the vote in 2022 in the college and agribusiness center in Blue Earth County. Schultz himself only garnered 41.07 percent of the vote in the DFL-voting MNHouse district. Seems unlikely.
Maybe Schultz was thinking North Mankato, across the Minnesota River in Nicollet County, served by Jeff Brand (18A, DFL), now in his second non-consecutive term. Brand defeated incumbent Susan Akland 51.04-48.84 percent in a district which split between DFL and Republican candidates. Schultz himself took 50.18 percent of the district's vote for Attorney General, but Tim Walz, Steve Simon and state senator Nick Frentz drew a majority. The district also includes small slivers of Mankato, Blue Earth County and Le Sueur County.
Brand's work on PFAS legislation earned statewide headlines, so he might not be that vulnerable in a district that includes college student voters from Gustavus College and nearby Minnesota State at Mankato.
Northfield
College town Northfield is represented by Kristi Pursell (58A, DFL), now serving her first term, following the retirement of DFLer Todd Lippert (slightly different district because of redistricting). Persell won the seat with 54.48 percent of the vote, in a district where all DFL candidates on the ballot won (US Representative Angie Craig, statewide executive candidates, and Minnesota state legislative candidate).
Schultz was the top Republican vote getter, with 47.57 percent of the vote, so he can dream. However, the district, home to two private colleges--Carleton and St. Olaf and the birthplace of the late Senator Paul Wellstone's grassroots organizing while a Carleton professor--has long been a hotbed of woke libs.
St. Cloud
This district might be a get for the House Republican caucus, given dings to the reputation of sitting third-term representative Dan Wolgamott (14B, DFL) following his recent DWI guilty plea.
However, other sitting state representatives (we're thinking 2A Republican Matt Grossell) have survived bad behavior, and Wolgamott has been very apologetic.
It's the profile of the district--home to a declining state university in an island of red--that would make this district a target, bad behavior or not. In 2022, Wolgamot won with 51.80 percent of the vote. State senator Aric Putnam, Governor Tim Walz, and SOS Steve Simon won on the DFL side, but Schultz, US Representative Tom Emmer, and GOP state auditor candidate Ryan Wilson also took the day.
In 2020, Trump lost to Biden 44.09 percent to 52.33 percent in Wolgamot's old district (pesky college students), and I'm not nerd enough to calculate the changed indexes following redistricting. It's possible having Trump on the ballot won't do Schultz's money any good in this district.
That seat up on the Iron Range
Bluestem suspects Schultz is targetting the last DFL Iron Range state representative, Aurora's Dave Lislegard in 7B. Once a DFL stronghold, the Range has transformed into a Republican playground.
With 52.76 percent of the vote, Schultz was the second-highest Republican vote getter in the district in 2022; only incumbent congressman Pete Stauber got a higher percentage of votes in his contest, Scott Jensen and Ryan Wilson received pluralities over Walz and Blaha.
Lislegard received 51.10 percent of the votes in his contest.
In 2020, his old district, 6B, was Trump territory, but Lislegard received more votes and a higher percentage in his own contest, so it's not certain having Trump on the ballot will harm him. However, not having the late Dave Tomassoni on the state legislative ticket as a DFLer in a presidential year may be a factor.
However, Lislegard has be militantly pro-mining, as press releases like Rep. Lislegard blasts Army Corps for revoking key Polymet permit demonstrate, so Schultz should be prepared to spend some of that private business cash once his group sets up a political action committee (PAC) for the election.
But what do I know.
Photo: Jim Schultz, keynote speaker at the Lyon County Republican Fall Dinner. Schultz, the 2022 Republican nominee for Minnesota Attorney General, said he is now building an organization called the Minnesota Private Business Council. Photo via Marshall Independent.
Related posts
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- Fearmongering the news: MNGOP Attorney General candidate confused about crime
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