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CONGRESSMAN JIM RAMSTAD TO RETIRE: THE GOP CANDIDATES I KEEP HEARING ABOUT
By Michael Brodkorb | September 17, 2007
Since breaking the story about Congressman Ramstad's retirement on Minnesota Democrats Exposed, my phone has been very active. The list of potential GOP candidates I am consistently hearing about has narrowed.
I haven't heard of anyone formally pulling out or getting in, but these are the three names I keep hearing:
- State Senator Geoff Michel
- Representative Erik Paulsen
- Republican National Committeman Brian Sullivan
I think anyone who has every thought about running for Ramstad's seat will give this race a serious thought. But ultimately, this will come down to three or four solid candidates.
As I was driving home from a meeting earlier this evening and I heard folks on Air American attacking Senator Michel. Please check back to Minnesota Democrats Exposed for more information on this developing story.
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27 Responses to “CONGRESSMAN JIM RAMSTAD TO RETIRE: THE GOP CANDIDATES I KEEP HEARING ABOUT”
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September 17th, 2007 at 8:02 PM
County Commissioner Linda Koblick.
September 17th, 2007 at 10:00 PM
MDE — a big hat tip to you for breaking another big story on your blog.
Your work is invaluable here in Minnesota. I’m sure the liberal bloggers and members of the media were irritated that once again, you scooped all of them by breaking this story.
Stay vigilant, MDE. We love you.
September 17th, 2007 at 10:01 PM
Eva — are you going to out Koblick like you did to Filesticker?
Eva is a real fracktard if she thinks Koblick has a snowball’s chance in hell of getting endorsed.
September 17th, 2007 at 10:03 PM
I have a great idea:
Let’s get Joe Repya to run for Congress and have Andy Appledoofus manage his campaign.
A surefire recipe for success.
September 17th, 2007 at 10:17 PM
At Least Repya is Honest – I believe he is in Washington D.C right now at the presidents request. We could do alot worse!!
September 17th, 2007 at 10:27 PM
He’ll tell you he’s in DC because the Pres really needed some advice on strategy in Iraq…in reality, Repya probably bought a ticket to some fundraiser where the Pres will speak.
September 17th, 2007 at 11:35 PM
MDE was ahead of MPR on this story – MPR posted about the press release – but Michael had the actual scoop.
Chris made some inuendo about Pfeilsticker – I just called him on it.
The only way Koblick could get endorsed is if she gets her people to caucuses. Republican caucuses are very hard sells for moderates. The party belongs to those who show up.
September 18th, 2007 at 6:47 AM
I don’t like it when Republicans talk about being marginalized, it re-inforces the Democrat talking points that we are a narrow party. Of course there is some truth to that, so I shouldn’t complain much.
I can’t imagine Brian Sullivan would run for this. He would be a very poor candidate in the 3rd, especially considering the other potential candidates available. He is more of a 2nd or 6th congressional district candidate.
By the way, are there any Republican women office holders in the 3rd who would consider running? Emphasis on credible.
September 18th, 2007 at 7:28 AM
Another good candidate would be Joyce Peppin. Having a woman on the ballot always helps and she’s a rock solid conservative.
September 18th, 2007 at 8:09 AM
I like the idea of Joyce Peppin, at least exploring the potential of her candidacy.
My girlfriend interned for her, and just raved about how Peppin was so fluent on the issues that she is passionate about, including being a real, honest fiscal watchdog…something MN needs coming from more districts.
She is principled, she comes from a moderate-Republican area, she has acheived some success already in her own district, winning in 2006 with 64% of the vote—and she is effective at conveying her message to the undecided voter.
Speaking of District 32….what about Sen. Warren Limmer? He brings many of the same qualities as Peppin and Michel, and a long track record of electoral success.
It will be interesting to see how this race shapes up.
September 18th, 2007 at 8:49 AM
God…you 3rd District Republicans are spineless. Limmer, Michel, Peppin??? How about you look for someone with conservative principles who won’t constantly throw their party under the bus as Ramstad has done for the last 20 years.
Although I’m sure Sullivan won’t run, he would be the perfect candidate – not only is he a dependable conservative, but the number one determinant in a close race like this is going to be the almighty dollar.
September 18th, 2007 at 8:51 AM
Hey Marc – I can’t imagine someone more conservative than Peppin.
September 18th, 2007 at 9:32 AM
Marc,
You mean the same Brian Sullivan who contributed to Martin Sabo’s campaign?
Peppin and Limmer are just as conservative as Sullivan.
Check Peppin’s TLM scorecard, for example.
September 18th, 2007 at 9:57 AM
Gary Miller should be ashamed of himself for calling a sitting member of Congress an SOB. He and his little pals aaa ARE THE ones who embody everything that is wrong with this party.
Somehow he can claim that he hates Ramstad but then is a cheerleader for Rudy Guiliani? Ramstad is much more conservative than Rudy, sorry, and I really like Rudy.
People like you make me sick…
September 18th, 2007 at 9:58 AM
Marc:
In a perfect world, I would favor running the most conservative candidate in almost any race.
However, in the realm of MN elected politics, sometimes we need to solicit candidates that fit the district trends and values.
Ramstad did not consistently win the 3rd because everyone agreed with him–but he was able to curry favor with those from the moderate left and moderate right to continue his work in DC.
Ramstad was a man of principle in his own right, which allows him to command the respect that he does from the Strib, MN Publius and MDE.
If you cannot see that, than your ideology blinds you.
That said, I did not agree with Ramstad on everything–he was not as conservative as I would’ve preferred–BUT HE WAS THE RIGHT MAN FOR THE JOB IN THAT SPECIFIC DISTRICT.
Our challenge as educated Republican voters is to identify and endorse a fiscally responsible, socially moral candidate that can solidify his/her base–and swing moderate Democrats to believe in their candidacy.
Winning the 3rd is no sure thing anymore—Brodkorb will echo that just as Ron Carey did at this morning’s press conference.
It will take a serious candidate, plenty of money and some real effort to keep this district red.
As I stated earlier, Rep. Peppin, Sen. Limmer and Sen. Michel all COULD present the DFL with a credible race.
That is not to say they are the only ones; clearly there are 5-6-7 other qualified conservative, reliable Republicans out there.
September 18th, 2007 at 11:27 AM
Warren Limmer would be slaughtered. Once information starts to come out about some of the things that he has said and voted on and introduced in the legislature he will be laughed out of the third. The only place Warren Limmer would ever have a shot is in the 6th.
September 18th, 2007 at 12:44 PM
You can’t be serious about Peppin.
Ask any of the conservative house reps and they will tell you stories about what he did to get rid of conservatives.
He is a Ramsted/CD3 politician – Anything for power kind of guy.
September 18th, 2007 at 1:01 PM
Sam: I can’t believe I have to point this out:
Rep. Joyce Peppin is not a guy.
She also hasn’t demonstrated anything nearly as power-hungry as Hortmann or the other Moonbats.
September 18th, 2007 at 1:18 PM
Sam you twit. Joyce Peppin is a WOMAN who is probably the most conservative legislator in the entire house. Get a clue….
September 18th, 2007 at 1:46 PM
Sam could be referring to Joyce’s husband, who is somewhat well known in Minnesota politics for recruiting Republican candidates and coordinating activities in targeted races. Mr. Peppin and Hortman faced off in court last year over a much publicized attack ad against Hortman (the case was dropped).
September 18th, 2007 at 2:02 PM
No kidding Joyce is a woman – Guess that is why he husband is a man.
And how did she get elected -
Because her hubby (That would be a He) was willing to sacrifice as many conservatives as necessary to win her a seat.
So yes the Peppins (both he and she), have a hunger for power. But it is the “He” who does the dirty work to get power for the “she”.
Thus the He above.
September 18th, 2007 at 2:28 PM
As someone who is actually lives in HD:32A, Joyce Peppin is a possibility for the Ramstad’s seat.
I know that the DFL will pull out every dirty trick and will slime anyone to get this previously untouchable seat.
September 18th, 2007 at 4:01 PM
GOP Optimist, your above post was a classic and 100% accurate!
I hope the 3rd District GOP keeps that in mind when they endorse next year.
September 18th, 2007 at 4:10 PM
[...] I'll have an update to yesterday's post in the next hour with information about two new candidates. [...]
September 18th, 2007 at 4:20 PM
For all of us right-wing and rational thinkers:
The winds that carry MN-3 Candidates will shift quite a bit over the next handful of months.
I have mentioned Rep. Peppin because I think she brings a winning track record, a fiscally-responsible mind and may (or may not) be able to attract the suburban, female, undecided vote.
The truth is (not always) that suburbanites tend to vote on issues dealing with families, taxes and how much disposable income they have–or lack thereof.
We need a fiscal conservative in this district; someone who we can trust to maintain a high quality of life that Rep. Ramstad has gone out of his way–across party lines–to bring to us for the last 17 years, but also someone that we can trust with keeping a some money in our wallets.
Moms and Dads alike are going to respond well to sound economic policy if it means that they have a little bit of extra cash to take a vacation, to buy their little girl a nice birthday gift, take their spouse out to eat, etc.
Both the DFL and Republicans want citizens to be able to do this…I really believe that, but the ultimate winner in this race will be able to sell the message THAT much better.
As somebody posted earlier, we can’t be a big tent party if the tent has such a narrow door, but that doesn’t mean we sacrifice our principles either.
Again, let’s all keep our eyes and ears open for the best fiscal and social conservative that matches the demographics and trends of the district.
Moderate or not, Rep. Ramstad deserves respect for the hard work and positive vision that he has had for the 3rd and the State of MN.
Let’s try and find someone to carry on and enhance what it is that he helped build.
September 18th, 2007 at 8:42 PM
Peppin brought much needed energy and commitment to 32A. She’s well worth consideration.
September 19th, 2007 at 7:58 PM
[...] I reported almost 48 hours ago that Republican National Committeeman Brian Sullivan was giving serious consideration to running for Congressman Ramstad's seat in 2008. Earlier this evening, I spoke with Sullivan and he confirmed the accuracy of what I reported on Monday. [...]