Are any MN Congressional Disricts not potentially Dem friendly?

[displacedyankeedem]

The 4th and 5th are solidly for us, the Twin Cities core ain't voting for a Regressive any time soon. The Iron Range's 8th District seems to be one of the few rural districts that is a likely Democratic seat.

I have no idea (looking at maps) at how Collin Peterson wins in the 7th, its probably the most Republican district in the state. The 3rd would be competitive if a moderate like Ramstead didn't hold it. Kennedy very nearly lost his shirt in the 6th this time around, and if he runs against Dayton, Wetterling should win easily. The 2nd is 50/50 and with a strong challenger is possibly winnable. Finally, in the 1st, I hear reports about Rochester getting more and more blue, so maybe some long term potential, but probably the decond most Republican district in MN.

[latteromden]

1. The 3rd could possibly be competitive if we work at it

Honestly, I think people just vote for Ramstad because they know him, considering he's been around so long. I'm in the 3rd, and my family would have voted for Ramstad, but we all voted for Watts instead, because we met her at the State Fair (and at the DFL office a few other times), and I think that personal contact could make all the difference here. I have never once heard from Ramstad here. If we could get a Democrat who could make use of the fact that he's been in politics for 23 years and seems to have stopped caring about his constituents entirely - because he HAS, all he does for us is stick up his huge orange billboards in an election season and then attaches his sign to whatever presidential candidate is running (we had "RAMSTAD - BUSH-CHENEY" signs this year) for free exposure, but he doesn't even give a damn that the people he's supposed to be working for are starting to fall into the Bush administration's blackhole of death to jobs and education (no, really, the 3rd District, the superrich suburbs, we're having problems here). He does not give a damn about the people he's supposed to represent, and if we had a candidate who could both point that out AND connect with the people one-on-one, at events, at the fair, out at the supermarket, door-to-door, we might actually gain some ground.

[no name no slogan]

2. Ramstad has a lot of DFL friends

I think part of the reason that Ramstad stays in is because there are some fairly powerful DFLers in his district that support him every two years, too.

This year, the DFL had an excellent candidate in Deborah Watts, who had a great platform and was a solid candidate. Unfortunately, the state DFL has all but written off the 3rd as Ramstad Country, so they don't put too much effort into it, either.

And to be fair, Ramstad is a very likable guy, and has been very progressive on mental health issues (one of my interests). He's also fiscally moderate and not nearly as right-wing wacky as the rest of the MN Repubs are these days.

[Krupskaya]

3. We'll lose the Eighth...

...if we run some touchy-feeling "progressive" from Duluth after Oberstar's gone. I am not confident about keeping it, unless we start working NOW to get our shit together.

[CatholicEdHead]

5. How so?

Of course a moderate Democrat up there would work much better in the 8th.

The 8th is more Union country so there needs to be someone else when Oberstar eventually decides to fade away to keep the Iron-miners from voting more on "moral values".

The economic card will probably still work in the 8th over the social issues card in the 8th.

[Eric J in MN]

4. How is Jim Ramstad moderate? (nt)

nt

[dflprincess]

7. Once upon a time Ramstad was moderate

but anyone who's followed his votes the last couple years know he is pretty much following the Bush line. Unfortunately, most his district is under the delusion that he is still moderate.

[CatholicEdHead]

6. Peterson

is a "Blue Dog Democrat". In the conservative side of the party, but not Zell Miller-style "conservative". That is why he wins so often. His policies/stances are more of a moderate Republican than anything.

http://baronhill.house.gov/bluedogs/mbr_profiles.htm

http://baronhill.house.gov/bluedogs/what_bluedog.htm

In the 1st, Gutncht (sp) is an overall moderate Republican and does not vote with pure party loyality like Kline or Kennedy.

[katinmn]

8. Suburbs and Exurbs with growing populations are going red

Grassroots Solutions has analyzed the 04 results and compared them with previous elections. The trend, not news, is that the burbs and NW Minnesota are growing more conservative. Those are the places were we need to help progressive candidates get elected.

http://www.grassrootssolutions.com/sites/785931d8-9ae1-47b3-a844-bc20125295f9/uploads/2004_Minnesota_Post-Election_Analysis__web_version_.ppt#273,14,Presidential Voting (Kerry Percent)