WETTERLING: "I'M NOT GOING TO RUN FOR THE 6TH DISTRICT"
Silly Wetterling thinks the DFL will endorse the candidate most likely to win in '06.
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Wetterling a stronger Senate candidate, she says;
She won't run for 6th District congressional seat
After children's advocate Patty Wetterling lost a closely contested congressional race in November, many Democrats are wondering why she is running for the U.S. Senate in 2006 instead of taking another shot at the open 6th District congressional seat.
Wetterling answered that question Tuesday: She believes she can win a statewide race but that she'd lose another election in the Republican-leaning 6th District, which extends from the St. Croix Valley through the northern suburbs to the St. Cloud area.
U.S. Rep. Mark Kennedy, a Republican, defeated her in the district, 54-46 percent, last fall. He's running for the U.S. Senate seat being vacated by Democratic-Farmer-Laborite Mark Dayton. Wetterling, 55, of St. Joseph is looking for a rematch.
Speaking to Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party elders at a Hemenway Forum luncheon in Oakdale, she said, "I'm not going to run for the 6th District. The numbers show me that ... I will not win."
The numbers are from a poll she commissioned in late February. It showed that, statewide, voters viewed her favorably by a 2-to-1 margin. But in the 6th District, she said, 48 percent had a negative impression of her and 46 percent viewed her positively.
She attributed those high negatives to a "very, very solid orchestrated campaign against me" by Kennedy and the GOP.
Her poll showed she would be a stronger Senate candidate against Kennedy than two other potential Democratic contenders -- Hennepin County Attorney Amy Klobuchar, who officially announced her candidacy Sunday, and attorney Mike Ciresi, who has said he's very interested in the race.
"I'm going to go where I think I can have the most impact," Wetterling said. "Why would we not take the most likely candidate to win and put them in this Senate seat?"
She pledged to abide by the DFL endorsement. That means if the party's 2006 convention endorses another candidate, she would not challenge the endorsee in a primary. Klobuchar made a similar vow on Sunday. Source: Pioneer Press, April 20, 2005
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Wetterling a stronger Senate candidate, she says;
She won't run for 6th District congressional seat
After children's advocate Patty Wetterling lost a closely contested congressional race in November, many Democrats are wondering why she is running for the U.S. Senate in 2006 instead of taking another shot at the open 6th District congressional seat.
Wetterling answered that question Tuesday: She believes she can win a statewide race but that she'd lose another election in the Republican-leaning 6th District, which extends from the St. Croix Valley through the northern suburbs to the St. Cloud area.
U.S. Rep. Mark Kennedy, a Republican, defeated her in the district, 54-46 percent, last fall. He's running for the U.S. Senate seat being vacated by Democratic-Farmer-Laborite Mark Dayton. Wetterling, 55, of St. Joseph is looking for a rematch.
Speaking to Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party elders at a Hemenway Forum luncheon in Oakdale, she said, "I'm not going to run for the 6th District. The numbers show me that ... I will not win."
The numbers are from a poll she commissioned in late February. It showed that, statewide, voters viewed her favorably by a 2-to-1 margin. But in the 6th District, she said, 48 percent had a negative impression of her and 46 percent viewed her positively.
She attributed those high negatives to a "very, very solid orchestrated campaign against me" by Kennedy and the GOP.
Her poll showed she would be a stronger Senate candidate against Kennedy than two other potential Democratic contenders -- Hennepin County Attorney Amy Klobuchar, who officially announced her candidacy Sunday, and attorney Mike Ciresi, who has said he's very interested in the race.
"I'm going to go where I think I can have the most impact," Wetterling said. "Why would we not take the most likely candidate to win and put them in this Senate seat?"
She pledged to abide by the DFL endorsement. That means if the party's 2006 convention endorses another candidate, she would not challenge the endorsee in a primary. Klobuchar made a similar vow on Sunday. Source: Pioneer Press, April 20, 2005
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