Free Republic

The Minnesota delegation’s 2012 support is suddenly up for grabs, but whether the only Minnesotan left in the 2012 GOP presidential race can capture those endorsements is far from decided. Republican Reps. John Kline and Erik Paulsen, two of former Gov. Tim Pawlenty’s (R) most prominent Capitol Hill backers, haven’t sprinted to support their home-state colleague Rep. Michele Bachmann since Pawlenty abruptly ended his candidacy Sunday. Rep. Chip Cravaack (R), a conservative who would appear to be more aligned with Bachmann’s ideals than the former governor, hasn’t rushed to her side either. When Bachmann sought the House Republican Conference chairmanship,...

Tarryl Clark, who tried to unseat Michele Bachmann from Congress in 2010, wants to take on Chip Cravaack in 2012. Clark told the News Tribune on Saturday that she is filing papers with the Federal Elections Commission to seek the Democratic nomination for the 8th District seat and will send an e-mail and video to supporters on Monday announcing her intentions. Clark and her husband, Doug, have purchased a condominium in Duluth where she will spend “a good chunk” of her time during the campaign, she said. They will maintain their residence in St. Cloud, Minn., where Doug Clark works....

Chip Cravaack, an ex-Navy pilot, was driving down the road, obeying a call from afar. It was a hot day in August 2009, at the peak of Tea Party fervor. A radio talk show host was railing against the Democrats' health care plan: Visit your congressman -- the talker said -- demand a town hall meeting. "I had my kids in the back of the car," recalls Cravaack, 51, a self-described stay-at-home dad with two boys, ages 8 and 6. "I was going down Highway 14, towards North Branch." It was a trip that would put Cravaack on a course...

For the first time in more than a generation the GOP swept to control of both houses of the Minnesota Legislature. In a stunning victory, Republicans swept into the majority in the Minnesota Senate for the first time in more than a generation and by early Wednesday had followed that by also taking control of the House. The dual victories left many of the state's top DFLers speechless, and erased months of optimistic projections that the party would buck a nationwide trend toward Republicans. Even Republicans, who gained confidence with each passing hour as key races broke their way, said...

Rep. Jim Oberstar, who for 18 terms represented one of the safest Democratic seats in the nation, was swept out of office by Republican Chip Cravaack, a newcomer to politics. Cravaack won 48 percent to 47 percent. Nobody thought it would be this close. Certainly not DFL stalwart Oberstar, a lion of Iron Range politics for the past four decades. Nobody, that is, except Cravaack, a newcomer to politics who seemed to be giving Oberstar the fight of his political life. Oberstar, a powerful transportation committee chairman who has delivered millions of dollars in pork-barrel projects to his northern Minnesota...

MINNEAPOLIS (AP)- Democratic Rep. Jim Oberstar is out. The dean of Minnesota's congressional delegation and the powerful chairman of the House Transportation Committee has been defeated by newcomer Chip Cravaack.

Long-serving Democrat Rep. Jim Oberstar is narrowly trailing Republican Chip Cravaack as he tries to hold on to his Northeastern Minnesota congressional seat. With 49 percent of precincts counted early today, the former Navy pilot Cravaack took a lead of about 1,200 votes out of more than 135,000 cast. Oberstar has never gotten less than 59 percent of the vote in the heavily DFL district. But Cravaack built momentum by portraying Oberstar as out of touch with the district and complicit in federal overspending. On Tuesday, Oberstar walked into his election night party in Duluth predicting “ a good night,...

He just lost the endorsement of the largest newspaper in his area, The Duluth News-Tribune, for the first time in 30 years. Citing the lack of financial restraint by the incumbent, The Duluth News Tribune emphasized Oberstar’s rubber-stamp of Obama’s policies on cap and trade, health care reform, continuation of the war in Afghanistan, and the resulting increase of unemployment.

Crowd steals the show at Oberstar, Cravaack debateby Bob Kelleher, Minnesota Public Radio October 19, 2010 Duluth, Minn. — The crowd stole the show Tuesday at a raucous 8th District Congressional Debate in Duluth. A boisterous and partisan crowd interrupted, cheered and jeered both Rep. Jim Oberstar, a Democrat and his Republican Challenger Chip Cravaack. More than 1,500 people packed the auditorium of the Duluth Entertainment and Convention Center for the debate, co-sponsored by the Duluth Area Chamber of Commerce, St. Luke's Hospital and the Duluth News Tribune. Cravaack, 51, is a retired naval officer and political newcomer. His Campaign...

Twice the venue had to be changed just to accommodate the crowd of 1,800 that attended the debate. Eventually they settled on the Duluth Convention Center. Needles to say, Cravaack's supporters showed up in force and they made sure that Oberstar knew they were there. The Duluth News Tribune reported that his supporters were rowdy and angry, but I truly wonder how much of the reporting was biased to make Chip's supporters look bad. After all, we have plenty of proof that the MSM has been trying to make Tea Party members and other supporters of conservative look like...

Jim Oberstar and Chip Cravaack didn’t just face each other this morning at the Duluth Entertainment Convention Center Auditorium, they faced angry mobs of their opponent’s supporters. Just seconds into the first comments by DFLer Oberstar, Cravaack supporters began to shout the long-term incumbent down with calls of "liar" and "Obama Junior." By the time challenger Cravaack’s turn came, Oberstar supporters responded in kind. Moderators asked for civility and respect, but the cat calls and jeering from a nearly-full auditorium continued through most of the 90-minute forum, often drowning-out candidates' answers over a faulty sound system that lacked volume. Oberstar...

Jim Oberstar and Chip Cravaack didn’t just face each other this morning at the Duluth Entertainment Convention Center Auditorium, they faced angry mobs of their opponent’s supporters. Just seconds into the first comments by DFLer Oberstar, Cravaack supporters began to shout the long-term incumbent down with calls of “liar’’ and “Obama Junior.’’ By the time challenger Cravaack’s turn came, Oberstar supporters responded in kind. Moderators asked for civility and respect, but the cat calls and jeering from a nearly-full auditorium continued through most of the 90-minute forum, often drowning-out candidate’s answers over a faulty sound system that lacked volume. Oberstar...

With just over two weeks until Election Day, several Minnesota newspapers are endorsing the Independence Party's Tom Horner for governor. The Star Tribune's editorial board says Horner has the best chance to overcome partisan gridlock in St. Paul. The Forum of Fargo, the Duluth News Tribune and the Bemidji Pioneer also endorsed Horner Sunday. Polls have shown Horner well-behind both Democrat Mark Dayton and Republican Tom Emmer.

Remember those signs that 18-term incumbent Jim Oberstar of Minnesota might be in trouble? First an internal GOP poll showed Republican Chip Cravaack, a former Navy and Northwest Airlines pilot, trailing Oberstar by just three points–42% to 45%. Then came a couple of surprising anecdotes: the AP reported a local union nearly endorsed Cravaack, and there was such interest in the campaign that the debate–scheduled at 8 a.m. on a Tuesday–had to be moved to a larger venue. Well, no surprise here, but it looks like we have confirmation that the interest isn’t being generated by Oberstar supporters. Politico reports...

We wrote here about the poll suggesting that Republican candidate Chip Cravaack was giving 18-term Democratic incumbent and porkmeister Jim Oberstar all he can handle in Minnesota's Eighth Congressional District. The internal Cravaack campaign poll showed Cravaack trailing Oberstar 42-45 percent, suggesting that Oberstar was, almost unbelievably, at risk of losing this race. Michael Barone vouched for the reputation of Public Opinion Strategies, the company that conducted the poll for Cravaack, and that was good enough for me. The poll was a stunner. The Oberstar campaign has been attacking it as a push poll. In a brief article yesterday, the...

In "The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald," Gordon Lightfoot refers to "the gales of November" on Lake Superior. In Minnesota the shores of Lake Superior lie within the Eighth Congressional District. According to a poll conducted by Public Opinion Strategies on behalf of Eighth Congressional District Republican candidate Chip Cravaack and released by his campaign yesterday, Cravaack trails 18-term incumbent porkmeister Jim Oberstar by only three points (42-45 percent). Will Oberstar founder on the gales of November 2? The POS poll has drawn the attention of Michael Barone, John McCormack and Ed Morrissey. I write to add these comments of...