Monday, August 14, 2006

Maybe we learn something from a meaningless endorsement 

It's not like the outcome of the DFL's substitute endorsement for attorney general was really in much doubt; my new radio partner decided to skip the festivities after being invited. Sounds like a good choice.

But the local story here included a couple of quotes from state Senator Tarryl Clark of St. Cloud, as the local area DFL was host for this event:

"This is an area we're going to be taking back," she said.

The DFL Party tries to move around the state for events to reach delegates and make it easy for as many as possible to attend, she said.

"It's a great place to have it," Clark said. "The St. Cloud area is an area people need to win, to win statewide."

That is interesting because this is traditionally a Republican area; in the 6th Congressional District in 2004 Bush/Cheney won by over 55,000 votes, the highest margin of any district. Given the DFL's huge advantage in CD 5, it's a rather strange thing to think CD6 is a swing district for the DFL. Maybe just a rally cry or happy talk, but it says something about strategy. For Republican statewide officeholders to win, this area has to turn out in large numbers.

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