Jan 31 Is Democrat Control in Minnesota’s 8th CD fading?

Growing up in the 8th Congressional District of Minnesota, only one person has represented me my entire life, Rep. James Oberstar. He has been in office since the 70s and there is no chance he is still in-touch with the district. The almost 40 years that he has spent in office was also spent in the DC metro area (where his house is).  He is a shining example for the term limits argument. While vegetating in his seat, Oberstar gained a stranglehold on the 8th voters. Working on campaigns in the district I’ve realized the difficulty in defeating an entrenched pro-life, pro-gun Democrat Congressman like him (or any Democrat for that matter). If you don’t know, the 8th CD has been Democrat controlled since T-Rex roamed the earth (when Oberstar was young). The citizens work blue collar jobs, love to hunt, fish, and keep a low key lifestyle. However, the ideology is mostly conservative: pro-gun, pro-life, low taxes, strong national defense.

Now I’m not sure anybody will ever beat Congressman Oberstar, but in 2010 we will certainly gain some ground with the voters for the GOP. In places like the Iron Range, the numbers are slowly shifting (1-2%) each election cycle towards the GOP. Almost all counties went Republican in the 2008 Senate election (St. Louis county was the killer). Labor union numbers are declining quickly, the political climate is leaning GOP, and we have four candidates vying for the endorsement.

UPDATE: Currently, Chip Cravaack, Justin Eichorn, Darrel Trulson, and 2008 candidate Michael Cummins are the three battling it out.

The only candidate I’ve met thus far is Michael Cummins. However, all four have a web presence and it is surprisingly good. It is rare that the 8th CD has two…let alone four legitimate candidates willing to take on Oberstar. This is surely a sign of a boost in confidence and slow shift of momentum. If this race is run correctly it could help local candidates across the 8th CD. It will be tough to combat the vast majority that will always vote for Oberstar, but he won’t stay in office forever. The GOP endorsed candidate needs to compete to win, but in the event of a loss, the candidate will gain name recognition and will push the conservative message to more voters. This will help expedite the process of a Republican shift in the 8th CD which could still take years. We wish the best of luck to the endorsed candidate and hope you visit with each of them and make your choice.

Cross-posted and comments welcome at Midwest Spin.