Apr 24, 2008 5:25 pm US/Central
Dems To Pick Challenger For Bachmann In MN's 6th
ST. PAUL (AP) ―
Even in a good year for Democrats, Minnesota's best-known mom couldn't beat polarizing conservative Michele Bachmann in the far-flung suburbs and small towns of the 6th District.
Two years after Patty Wetterling's defeat, Democrats will decide Saturday whether to go a different route.
About 150 party activists will meet in Andover to choose between Elwyn Tinklenberg, a former Methodist minister and state transportation commissioner, and Bob Olson, a minister's son who owns a bank and founded a green energy nonprofit.
The delegate's minds are on beating Bachmann, which might involve overlooking their own strongly held beliefs on abortion and other social issues. Tinklenberg -- who opposes legalized abortion but says he would not work against abortion rights -- has the edge in delegates.
District DFL Chairwoman Nancy Schumacher, who based her count on subcaucus results, predicted a relatively quick endorsement. She hedged on who it would be. Olson, meanwhile, claimed that he is leading and said he expects multiple ballots.
Schumacher said Democrats want to focus on roads, jobs and housing -- issues she said Bachmann has neglected.
"In many minds, Bachmann is an embarrassment in her voting record, and it doesn't seem she is doing anything -- not only for the 6th District but also for the state of Minnesota," Schumacher said.
Bachmann's campaign didn't respond to multiple requests for comment.
The 6th District wraps around the northern half of the Twin Cities and stretches west past St. Cloud. Its voters have tended to support Republicans, but not always; they helped put former professional wrestler Jesse Ventura in the governor's office a decade ago and backed Democrat Amy Klobuchar for Senate in 2006.
Both Tinklenberg and Olson say they are the best candidate to beat Bachmann, and both said they would do so by appealing to independents. Both promised to drop out if the other wins the endorsement, although Tinklenberg said his pledge might not apply if last-minute attacks sway the vote.
Several letters circulated among activists have questioned Tinklenberg's work as a transportation consultant. One accused Tinklenberg of working as an unregistered lobbyist. But the Minnesota Campaign Finance and Public Disclosure Board found last week that Tinklenberg's consulting work on a commuter rail line did not trigger a requirement for him to file paperwork as a lobbyist.
On Monday, former Attorney General Miles Lord accused Tinklenberg of supporting the use of cancer-causing taconite mining byproducts in road projects. Tinklenberg said University of Minnesota researchers found taconite waste from the western Iron Range to be safe for use in roads and he supports further testing.
Meanwhile, Olson is highlighting the abortion issue.
"I am pro-choice no matter who I am talking to. We do not have to compromise to elect a Democrat in Minnesota's 6th District," he said in a recent letter to delegates.
Tinklenberg described himself as "pro-life" and then said: "I would not support nor would I introduce anything that would undermine or overturn Roe, that would criminalize the relationship between a woman and her doctor."
Roe v. Wade is the Supreme Court decision establishing the right to abortion. The issue is a potent one in the 6th, where abortion opponents and social conservatives mobilized to help put Bachmann in office.
Tinklenberg is sketching himself as more moderate, playing up his childhood filled with chores and church services just outside the 6th District. He also brings up his credentials as a former Blaine mayor and head of the Minnesota Department of Transportation under Ventura's Independence Party administration.
In his first run for the seat in 2006, he held off Wetterling's endorsement for a long afternoon of balloting before dropping out. This year, like then, his roster of supporters includes unions and Democratic elected officials.
Tinklenberg said he wants to revive a sense of optimism and working together.
"Bachmann doesn't have a lot that's positive to bring to the race," he said. "She is tied to the failed Bush policies of the past."
As a community banker, Olson said he understands economic issues and can relate to the concerns of 6th District voters smarting from climbing gas prices and the foreclosure crisis. He calls for a national effort to develop renewable energy and undo U.S. dependence on foreign oil.
"Nobody suffers more with high gas prices than the 6th District," he said.
Olson lost to GOP Rep. Jim Ramstad in 1994 with 26 percent of the vote. He started a Senate campaign last year but then switched to the House race.
Bachmann, a Republican, has a commanding financial advantage over all comers.
At the end of March, she has more than $1 million in the bank, compared with $102,000 for Tinklenberg and $112,000 for Olson, who has loaned his campaign $182,000 since he started. The Independence Party candidate, John Brockberg, had not reported fundraising.
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