Campaign '08

Fierce Race With Seat Up For Grabs In 3rd District

(WCCO) It's a rare thing in politics to have a congressional district totally up for grabs. Of the eight races in Minnesota, there's only one where the incumbent is retiring and leaving an open seat. It's the 3rd District in the western suburbs of the Twin Cities.

From the living rooms of Shorewood to coffee shops in Eden Prairie the race for this congressional seat in Minnesota is as fierce as any race in the country.

Democrat Ashwin Madia, Republican Erik Paulsen and Independent David Dillon are all looking to replace retiring Congressman Jim Ramstad after nine terms in Washington, D.C.

"You know, I could light my hair on fire to get attention and it wouldn't matter much," Dillon said, who knows it's an uphill battle. He runs a family printing business in Brooklyn Park.

The national parties are pouring so much money into the race between Madia and Paulsen. And it's a classic match-up of a hard-playing Iraq veteran and attorney Ashwin Madia versus family guy Erik Paulsen who's a seven-term member of the Minnesota House.

Paulsen calls himself a "next generation" Republican reformer.

"I think we have real opportunities to right the ship and set the country on a new course and a right course just in terms of some good, smart, live within your means mentality, address the federal budget deficit," Paulsen said.

He said he would have voted for the economic rescue package and he supports retaining the Bush tax cuts.

Madia, the son of immigrants from India, also supports the Wall Street bailout, but said he wants the Bush tax cuts to expire for anyone making more than $250,000.

"We need to change. And to me the biggest change we can make is to return to fiscal responsibility and balanced budgets and paying down this debt. That's going to be my number one priority when I get to Congress," Madia said.

However, most Minnesotans know about this political race "as seen on TV", and it's not pretty.

Retiring Congressman Ramstad, who's endorsed Paulsen, has called for a return to civility, even in his own party, and a refocus on the issues.

"And we need to get back in our campaigns, and the campaign specifically in the 3rd District to discussing solutions to these serious problems," Ramstad said.

Traditionally a moderate district, there are signs of a political shift. Minnesota's 3rd Congressional District is a toss-up, with a very real possibility it could change from red to blue.

 

(© MMVIII, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)