I think this is going to be a humdinger of an election. \u00a0Alongside my predictions from this morning – GOP holds both chambers of the Legislature – I think Chip Cravaack will stave off Rick Nolan, setting the stage for what could be an epic realignment in Minnesota politics.<\/p>\n
Beyond that? \u00a0I think Lee Byberg has laid the groundwork for what could be – let’s be conservative, here – a result that is unexpectedly good, and disconcerting for Collin Peterson. \u00a0And I think it would have happened even without his improvident slander of pro-lifers.<\/p>\n
And while I think it’ll take a complete economic collapse and mass civil disorder to make Minneapolis anything but a DFL playground, I think Chris Fields is going to surprise people with his results on November 7. \u00a0He’s run a masterful campaign; in a just world, there would be no contest; in a district that wasn’t a one-party thug-ocracy, the statesmanly Fields would make short work of the whiny, petulant Ellison.<\/p>\n
As to the 4th CD?<\/p>\n
Here’s where we need your help.<\/strong><\/p>\n Redistricting shaved Betty McCollum’s advantage down, but it didn’t gut it. \u00a0The 4th Congressional District was as blue as the Oceana Ministry of Truth’s uniforms before redistricting, of course; and it absorbed a lot of purple territory in Stillwater and Woodbury (as well as a few bright-red districts full of Real Americans up in Grant Township).<\/p>\n Which is a huge improvement, don’t get me wrong.<\/p>\n And so Tony Hernandez has been fighting this campaign to win. \u00a0And along with that, there’s been a solid effort by a\u00a0lot\u00a0<\/em> of candidates at the legislative level. \u00a0I think we’ve got a solid shot at four or five new seats in the legislature, either flips or open seats, as well as defending the seats we already\u00a0do\u00a0<\/em>have.<\/p>\n And – this is huge – I think Blake Huffman, Dennis Dunnigan and Sue Jeffers have a solid shot at getting on the Ramsey County Commission. \u00a0And if that happens, the Ramco Commission will have a conservative majority<\/strong>!<\/p>\n If there’s a habit from the Old Fourth that we need to put to rest, it’s the idea that Saint Paul and Ramsey County Republicans only turn out when they think it matters – competitive Presidential, Gubernatorial and Senate races. \u00a0The media has done a painstaking, and fraudulent, job of trying to convince them that the Presidential and Senate races are foregone conclusions; they do it to try to convince Republicans not to show up at the polls.<\/p>\n This is where you come in.<\/p>\n The Hernandez Campaign is organizing a phone bank – along with several other campaigns and BPOUs in the 4th CD – to Get Out The Vote, starting tonight and running up until the election.<\/p>\n