The campaign announcements for Minnesota's 2010 governor's race keep rolling in.
State Sen. Tom Bakk told the Mesabi Daily News that he will officially kick-off his campaign for the Democratic nomination this week. And former GOP state Rep. Bill Haas plans to announce his campaign on Wednesday, the AP reports. Republican state Sen. Paul Koering is also considering a run.
Bakk, who has been mulling a run for the past year, is the only Democratic candidate thus far from the Iron Range region, in rural northeast Minnesota.
He hopes to capitalize on his regional as well as labor ties.
But, as he acknowledged to the Mesabi Daily News, he needs to pump up his statewide name recognition and fundraising to compete with other, better known Democrats, such as former U.S. Sen. Mark Dayton, Minneapolis Mayor R.T. Rybak and St. Paul Mayor Christopher B. Coleman. Dayton and Gaertner have declared they are running, Rybak and Coleman are considering it.
Ramsey County Attorney General Susan Gaertner, state Sen. John Marty, state Rep. Paul Thissen, former House Minority Leader Matt Entenza and former state Sen. Steve Kelley are also running for the Democratic nomination. State House Speaker Margeret Anderson Kelliher has not ruled out a bid.
The Republican field is even more up in the air after incumbent Tim Pawlenty announced last week he will not run for a third term.
Haas, the former mayor of Champlin, Minn., quickly announced his intent to run.
Along with Koering, others considering a run include state Rep. Marty Seifert, who stepped down as House minority leader last week as he mulls his options, state Senate Assistant Minority Leaders David W. Hann and Geoff Michel, former Pawlenty chief of staff Charlie Weaver, entrepreneur Brian Sullivan, who lost to Pawlenty in the Republican primary in 2002, former State Auditor Pat Anderson, and state Reps. Paul Kohls, Laura Brod, and Tom Emmer.
![[ARCHIVES]](http://blogs.cqpolitics.com/templates/images/archives_icon.png){kind=icon}
Post A Comment