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Tinklenberg Wins 6th District DFL Nod

ANDOVER, Minn. (AP) ― Democrats hungering to unseat Republican Rep. Michele Bachmann endorsed former Transportation Commissioner Elwyn Tinklenberg on Saturday in Minnesota's 6th District.

Tinklenberg, in his second try for the congressional seat, got his party's nod by acclamation after winning 72 percent support on the first ballot at an endorsing convention in Andover. He defeated tax attorney Bob Olson of St. Cloud.

Tinklenberg promised to draw independents and moderates to his side by talking about hope and possibility. He said his campaign would be heavy on one-to-one contact with voters in a district that sprawls from Stillwater to Sauk Rapids.

"This is our time, but we need to live our beliefs," said the former Methodist minister. "We need to prove that we are different."

Bachmann, he said, is too conservative and too close to President Bush.

"She is all about lockstep. She is all about absolute obedience. She has demonstrated that in her complete embrace of the president," he said. "And I think that message is not going to resonate well with independents in the district."

Meanwhile, GOP Chairman Ron Carey called Tinklenberg a "far-left liberal" who doesn't fit the district.

Bachmann is focusing on her constituents and their concerns -- not her opponent, said Michelle Presson, her congressional chief of staff.

"They're worried about the economy and their pocketbooks, and Representative Bachmann is right in line with their concerns," Presson said.

Many Democrats have a vitriolic response to Bachmann, and the 6th District DFL activists said unseating her was more important than the distinctions between the two Democrats. Before the voting, Olson tried to appeal to abortion rights supporters uncomfortable with Tinklenberg's position on the issue.

Tinklenberg calls himself "pro-life" but told the convention he would not support any restrictions on abortion.

Tinklenberg supporter Donald Singley, an alternate delegate from Woodbury, said beating Bachmann is the main point.

"Democrats just really haven't put up a convincing position and attacked Michele the way she deserves to be attacked," Singley said. "They really need to go after her."

Two years ago, Tinklenberg dropped out of the race after narrowly losing the DFL endorsement to Patty Wetterling. Despite her name recognition as the mother who lost her son to an unknown kidnapper, Wetterling lost to Bachmann 42 percent to 50 percent, with 8 percent going to the Independence Party's John Binkowski.

This year's Independence Party candidate is John Brockberg.

The 6th District wraps around the northern half of the Twin Cities and stretches west past St. Cloud.

Elsewhere Saturday, the DFL Party endorsed Reps. Tim Walz and Keith Ellison for re-election in the 1st and 5th districts, respectively. The 1st District covers far southern Minnesota while the 5th District primarily covers Minneapolis. 
   

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