There’s nothing official about it, but the campaign to succeed Congressman Jim Ramstad may unofficially begin tonight at the CD3 DFL meeting in Minnetonka. The party organization hasn’t met in a while, but the meeting promises to be full of buzz following Ramstad’s recent announcement that he won’t seek reelection. Buck Humphrey is expected to be in attendance, but Andy Luger is out of town and will likely not be able to attend.

Check back tonight once reports come in.

Speaking of Humphrey: Floods start with a trickle.The first “Stop [Candidate Name]” blog has appeared, in the form of StopBuck. (Note to Google — you guys have to make it more difficult to register a bunch of blogspot.com sites at once.)

On the Republican side, several more potential candidates have been floated, but multiple sources have indicated that the right of first refusal to frontrunner status probably goes to State Rep. Erik Paulsen. He has worked for the congressman and has long been a Ramstad protege. Even if Ramstad makes no public displays of support, his private assistance would go a long way toward pushing Paulsen over the top.