Top Ten House Races to Watch: Part II

In 37A, Tara Mack is running against Rep. Shelley Madore (DFL-Apple Valley). Mack is the legislative assistant for 34B's Rep. Joe Hoppe (R-Chaska) and so brings to the race a deft understanding of Capitol operations. Besides a "passion for the political process,'" she's had the opportunity to learn "what it takes to be a good legislator," Mack told Thisweek Newspapers in February. First-termer Madore will defend her seat, but has more than just one election under her belt. In 2004 she lost the race for 37A to former Rep. Lloyd Cybart by 466 votes, but returned in 2006 to defeat him by a mere 195.

Once a DFL stronghold, district 17A has been represented by Republican Rob Eastlund (R-Isanti) since 2000. As the district has grown in population, it has increasingly voted for Republican candidates, but Eastlund's 2006 victory over Melissa Jabas was very narrow. With only 195 votes separating the candidates two years ago, the DFL will be considering this a winnable seat. To oppose Eastlund, they've endorsed Jim Godfrey, an Education Minnesota-affiliated teacher from Cambridge. He's secured a number of endorsements, including Jabas, Sen. Rick Olseen (DFL-Harris) and Rep. Jeremy Kalin (DFL-Lindstrom).

Speaking of Rep. Kalin, the freshman will have to defend his seat in 17B against Don Taylor, who won endorsement over three other candidates—notably including Wyoming mayor Sheldon Anderson. Taylor, currently mayor of Chisago City, says on his campaign site that Kalin "doesn't understand the concerns of the citizens of Chisago County." Kalin points to his record in the Legislature as evidence of his positive performance. It took Kalin two elections to win his seat: in 2004 incumbent Lindstrom Republican Pete Nelson soundly defeated him by 1,990 votes. Kalin returned in 2006 to win by only 204 votes.

The 56A representative, Julie Bunn (DFL-Lake Elmo), is another first-term DFLer whose seat the GOP wants to win. In 2006 she scored a narrow victory with 244 more votes than the incumbent freshman Rep. Mike Charron—so her opponents know the race could be tight. To oppose Bunn, Republicans have endorsed a candidate with lots of political experience, Lake Elmo's Kathy Lohmer. Lohmer has been involved in Republican Party activities for fifteen years as a delegate and caucus-goer, and decided that she "need[s] to give it a shot and run," the Stillwater Gazette reported.

In 2006, Robin Brown (DFL-Austin) edged out the Republican candidate Matt Benda in a close race for the Democratic-leaning but mixed 27A. Albert Lea Republican Dan Dorman had retired after four terms in the seat. This season, her opponent is Albert Lea's Erik Larsen, who wrote in the Albert Lea Tribune that he will focus on economic growth in the district as a campaign issue. Complicating the scene is the campaign of William Wagner of Ellendale, a DFLer who will run against Brown in a September 9 primary.

In 38B Lynn Wardlow (R-Eagan) will again square off against Mike Obermueller. Their 2006 race was very competitive, with Wardlow taking the seat for a third term by 163 votes. Obermueller himself is said to have been shocked at how close he came to winning. 38B's typical Republican lean—and the symbolic quality of Pawlenty's former House seat—should motivate the DFL to consider this an important race.