TakeAction Minnesota members voted to endorse Third District Congressional candidate Ashwin Madia last night. More than 90 percent of those present supported backing his campaign.

In a 30-minute Q & A session prior to the vote, Madia portrayed himself as a staunch defender of civil liberties, emphasized his military background and advocated for deficit reduction and green jobs in discussing the economy. "Some of you may know, I’m new to the progressive movement," he told the group, noting his roots in the Republican Party. "Maybe I can be a bridge for those people."

TakeAction members also gave near-unanimous support to three state legislators: John Benson, Paul Gardner and Jeremy Kalin. The latter two candidates were elected in 2006 by exceedingly small margins. Kalin won by just 204 votes, while Gardner triumphed by 51 votes.

TakeAction Minnesota has proven a significant political player in the last two state election cycles, helping DFLers take comfortable control of both legislative bodies. Democrats are within five votes of establishing a veto-proof majority in the House and hold a 44-23 advantage in the Senate.

The nonprofit group is now backing ten state legislative candidates and two Congressional contenders (the other being Rep. Keith Ellison). TakeAction will screen Senate candidate Al Franken on July 31. The group’s board of directors must still sign off on the endorsements voted on last night.