but a political run would kill his show.

He has been labelled a liberal in the bad sense for 25 years. In office, he did nothing that anyone ever noticed.

He woulda gotten killed.

We need a tough candidate like Mike Hatch. If we get the right guy, I think our chances of keeping the seat are actually better.

The Senate needs more African-Americans and he'd be a great candidate.

In any case, he seems to be a beloved figure in Minn.  Would he qualify for this short list??

Also, I have seen comments about Dayton having problems, and that some Democrats think this is for the best etc.
What was the problem with Dayton??  Being from Illinois I am not that familiar with him or his "baggage".  Can someone enlighten me a short synopsis of this baggage ?

Dave MB

In other words, Dems' strong performance here in '04 may, or may not, be replicated next time. MN is a purple state. Without a Pres race to encourage young or occasional voters in '06, and without national support for GOTV, the Rs may even have a turnout advantage. If glib, smart suburban R Mark Kennedy wins the R primary, as expected, we're looking at a very, very close race. Former Sen Rod Grams, the winger whom Dayton beat in '00, would be easier to beat; Gutknecht represents a part of the state that votes R anyway, but he's an articulate guy who takes outspoken moderate positions when it suits him-- I hadn't heard of his interest in the race.

We don't want a celebrity candidate, who wd play into all the negative stereotypes about Dems and Hollywood elitist liberals (even if that candidate grew up here)-- this isn't California. (Paul Wellstone, an outspoken liberal, spent the 20 years before he ran for Senate working on rural issues and getting to know the farmers. I don't think Al Franken has done that; I don't think Keillor wants to run for Senate, although he'd be a much better candidate than Franken.)

Jesse Ventura will never run for office again, and he'd lose if he did.

We want a serious, articulate candidate with an existing base, a proven ability to attract rural or suburban voters. and, of course, somebody who can raise money. Wetterling, popular state AG Mike Hatch, and former Dem Senate candidate Mike Ciresi are all possibilities. I believe Ciresi can also self-fund.

Of MN's 4 Dem house members, Betty McCollum-- who represents me-- is only in her third term, and may not want it. Martin Sabo of Minneapolis represents Minneapolis and has been around for donkey's ages, and probably doesn't want it; Oberstar of Duluth=same thing, and the part of the state he represents votes Dem anyway and is shrinking; Colin Peterson of western MN is probably too conservative to get nominated, and his seat will go R the minute he leaves.

Information on other potential candidates much appreciated.

She clearly has her eyes on bigger things.  I thought she would wait until Coleman, but with Dayton gone, she is going for it.

Now I know why he was calling!

Rod Grams -- Hypocritical right-wing moralist who was voted out of office after his involvement in screwing the office help (which he later married after divorcing his wife).

No contest, people.  

Ciresi has fire in the belly.  Unlike Dayton, he relishes going toe-to-toe with scum and ripping their lungs out.

Remember how so many of us cringed when Harry Reid was tapped to replace Tom Daschle as Senate Minority Leader?  See how good a job Hammerin' Harry's been doing lately?

This is what this will turn out to be like.  Ciresi will kick Grams' ass to the curb and have fun doing it.

Hey, I like that - Keillor for Senate!

www.sertich4rep.org

One of the MPR discussions of Dayton's decision today was of interest.  The Republicans were planning a very "dirty" attack campaign against Dayton, and his decision forces them to totally reverse fields as they will not be running against a "target" if you will.  Minnesota generally reacts badly to dirty campaigns so if the DFL is able to mount a basic issues (Education, Health Care, Transit, Social Security) campaign that is somewhat high minded and positive -- it is DFL advantage.  And Amy has been prosecutor for all these years, so that takes the law and order stuff off the table.  

Amy Klobuchar can do this.  Patty Wetterling can't -- it's just not part of her temperament.  And Betty McCollum, much as I love her (she's my Rep), can't do it, either.

There are a lot of good Democrats out there.  But we need good AND tough Democrats who aren't going to faint when they find out what sort of crap the Republicans are handing out to their mega-church buddies in the 'burbs and rural areas to be distributed during Sunday services.

(jk)

Ciresi can do it because he has guts, money (and a donor base), experience, and organization.  

This is going to be a very nasty race.  We need someone who makes his/her living eating nasty people for breakfast and using their bones as toothpicks.

Other states that have had more than their share:

Texas: '60, '64, '88
Mass: '60, '88, '04
Tennessee: '92, '96, '00

Of course it's nothing like the GOP which has had Richard Nixon or a "George Bush" on the ticket in eleven of the last fourteen presidential elections (over half a century). And if you add Bob Dole to the list, it's 13 of 14 elections that are covered by four people, two with the same name.

Later, when I did some digging around on Senate.gov, I discovered that Dayton was not due up until 2006.  It pissed me off that he sucked money out of me that another candidate could have really, really used in 2004, and that he exploited Paul Wellstone's name to do it.  I never sent him another cent and deleted all his subsequent emails. I'm glad he quit, and I hope Amy Klobuchar turns out to be a better candidate.