After a surprising (to some) result in Iowa, the remaining presidential candidates have pulled up stakes and flown to New Hampshire for the first-in-the-nation primary tomorrow. Sen. Barack Obama of Illinois sits in the Democratic driver’s seat, having soundly defeated Sen. Hillary Clinton and former Sen. John Edwards in the Iowa caucuses.  On the Republican side, former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee faces a tall task in campaigning against Sen. John McCain (popular in New Hampshire) and former Gov. Mitt Romney (rich and from nearby Massachusetts). Not liking the looks of candidate attention withdrawal?  Fear not, Midwesterners — if there is still a contest to be had, the candidates will be back in the Midwest, at least temporarily, as they make their pitches for Super-Duper Tuesday on Feb. 5.  That includes Minnesota, where presidential campaign activities are increasing, including an Obama campaign kickoff this past weekend.

Meanwhile, there are some upcoming campaign goings-on here in Minnesota:CD3:  Edina Mayor Jim Hovland officially kicks off his campaign to replace outgoing Rep. Jim Ramstad today. He touted his experience as mayor in a recent mailing to DFL activists, citing the progress made by cities like Edina on national and worldwide issues like global climate change.  In assessing a candidate who was elected to his current office as a Republican and only recently switched, several DFL activists have come away from Hovland’s appearances impressed with his progressive positions.  However, many of those same activists have been frustrated by his lack of specificity, something that is usually addressed in the “official” (read:  post-kickoff event) stump speech.

Hovland’s official kickoff will take place at the Southwest Transit Station in Eden Prairie at 10:30 a.m., to be followed by a celebration at the Hyland Lake Park Reserve in Bloomington at 7 p.m.

CD2:  DFL candidate Steve Sarvi will participate in a live blog session on Minnesota Monitor this evening at 7 p.m. Sarvi is running against three-term incumbent Republican John Kline for Minnesota’s 2nd District seat in Congress.  Although the congressional trail in the south suburban district has been relatively quiet so far, expect that to change now that the election year has rolled around.  Kline is reviled by area DFLers, and in a blue-leaning swing state, you can bet that the Democratic presidential nominee will have field organizers on the ground helping get every last DFL vote out in November.