Quist lost the Republican endorsement to former legislator Randy Demmer in 2010. Quist, who is a longtime religious right activist, has run for office several times, including a primary challenge to Gov. Arne Carlson who Quist thought was too liberal.

“I wish to thank all the patriotic Republicans who have been encouraging me to become a candidate for First District Congress,” Quist wrote on his website. “Be assured that I hear what you are saying, and I am now leaning in the direction of aggressively going for it. I will make a final decision soon.”

Quist ran in 2010 for the Republican endorsement and made national headlines for his statements at the Wabasha County Republicans Christmas Party when he said that defeating liberals was more important than defeating terrorism. He lost the endorsement to Randy Demmer, who lost in the general election to Walz.

He’s spent a long time in politics and during his stint in the Minnesota Legislature in the 1980s, he made a name for himself by opposing LGBT rights and ranting against abortion, two topics on which he has authored books.

In the 1988 legislative session, Quist was notorious for his emphasis on social issues. “He alleged that Mankato State University was encouraging the spread of AIDS by sponsoring a counseling center for gays, comparing it to a center for the Ku Klux Klan,” wrote the Star Tribune’s Dane Smith in 1994.

Sen. Mike Parry is the only Republican challenger to have formally announced for Minnesota’s 1st Congressional District. He officially kicked off his campaign on Thursday morning with a series of stops in southern Minnesota.

“I’m running for Congress because Congressman Tim Walz and the Washington crowd have sold us out,” Parry said in a statement. “They have mortgaged the futures of our children and grandchildren with their wasteful spending. I look forward to speaking with families across southern Minnesota about how we can bring fiscal responsibility to Washington.”

Parry is so far the only challenger to Rep. Tim Walz, a DFLer who first won election in 2006.

“After five years in Washington, Congressman Tim Walz has represented the values of Washington liberals like Nancy Pelosi and not the values of southern Minnesota,” Drazkowski said in a statement. “I’m convinced that Mike will build the grassroots campaign to defeat Congressman Walz. As a small business owner, he is best equipped to go to Washington and rein in wasteful government spending and jump-start our economy.”

Both Drazkowski and Parry are among the most conservative members of the Minnesota Legislature. Minnesota’s First Congressional District is one of the state’s most moderate. Since 1980, the district has been held for an equal number of years by both the DFL and the GOP.

News broke on Friday that the New Hampshire staff was departing, but neither Bachmann nor her higher ups seemed to have gotten the message as she took to blasting the media for fabricating the story. By Sunday, Bachmann conceded that two staffers had left, but was still asserting that her New Hampshire team was largely intact.

In the statement released Monday, the staffers describe a campaign structure that, at times, ignored them.

“[M]embers of Team-NH made numerous attempts to directly contact a senior member of the national team on Friday, October 14, 2011, expressing a possible desire to remain with the campaign, but they wanted to clear up a few matters,” the statement read. “This senior member of the national campaign did not attempt to contact the NH campaign staffers. The staffers took this as a signal that the national team did not want to engage in a conversation that might have resulted in the staffers remaining with the campaign. The staffers no longer wish to be part of the campaign.”

The staffers also alleged a hostile relationship with the national campaign.

“The manner in which some in the national team conducted themselves towards Team-NH was rude, unprofessional, dishonest, and at times cruel. But more concerning was how abrasive, discourteous, and dismissive some within the national team were towards many New Hampshire citizens,” the statement read. “These are our neighbors and our friends, and some within the national team treated them more as a nuisance than as potential supporters.”

Here’s the full statement:

Manchester, NH – October 23, 2011: For Immediate Release The Team-NH of the Bachmann Campaign has chosen to release a joint statement regarding their departure from the campaign. This statement explains the following:

*The NH Team didn‟t want to leave the campaign, but it should be clear the entire NH team has departed.

*Everyone should understand that the NH Team realizes the importance of this election

*The NH team is committed to making Obama a one-term president, but it will be through other organizations/campaigns.

*The team holds no ill will towards the candidate, but not longer feels relevant based on their poor relationship with the national team.

Team-NH of the Bachmann Campaign has decided to disband. This decision comes after much soul-searching by each individual and after countless hours of discussion as a team. Although the team members regret our departure from the campaign, we know there was very little choice.

The team also wants to clarify some of the confusion regarding their departure. While they collectively felt loyalty to the candidate, they no longer have faith in the national team. This is a sentiment that has been building since June, and was expressed on numerous occasions to members of the national team; it is now apparent that Team NH‟s concerns were not fully shared with Congresswoman Bachmann, and were not taken seriously by some members of the national team. These are symptoms of the disease that infects too many members of the national campaign team.

It is also important that the chain of events of our departure is properly reported. During Congresswoman Bachmann‟s recent trip to New Hampshire, several incidents happened that concerned some members of Team-NH. Those incidents will remain private, but they were serious enough for some members to depart the campaign. Jeff Chidester, the NH Campaign Manager, sent an e-mail on Thursday, October 13, 2011 to a person he trusted who was connected to the campaign announcing that Chidester was „done,‟ and would no longer stay with the team. The recipient of that e-mail asked if the entire NH team was also departing. Chidester informed this individual that some members of the team might be interested in staying, but that major changes needed to occur and that the national team must make contact with each member.

Additionally, members of Team-NH made numerous attempts to directly contact a senior member of the national team on Friday, October 14, 2011, expressing a possible desire to remain with the campaign, but they wanted to clear up a few matters. This senior member of the national campaign did not attempt to contact the NH campaign staffers. The staffers took this as a signal that the national team did not want to engage in a conversation that might have resulted in the staffers remaining with the campaign. The staffers no longer wish to be part of the campaign.

Regarding pay, there also seems to be some misunderstanding. The five departing members were full-time contract employees until September 11, 2011, when they were asked by the national team to temporarily “go off payroll”, possibly until the middle of October (2011), due to financial concerns within the campaign. Moreover, Chidester voluntarily took himself off payroll (retroactive to September 1, 2011) for the remainder of the campaign in an effort to help the campaign financially. Some members went back on payroll for Congresswoman Bachmann‟s most recent trip; but to date, no member of Team-NH has received any notification to continue employment – yet another failure by the national team to communicate with Team-NH. Recent statements by some members of the national team regarding the employment status of Team-NH were dishonest and belittling, but indicative of the larger problems that led to Team-NH‟s departure.

Team-NH would like to stress that pay was not a primary motivation, and that each member was committed to the candidate and her principals. Team-NH regarded themselves as a team ready and willing to help Congresswoman Bachmann win New Hampshire. Sadly, they were deceived, constantly left out of the loop regarding key decisions, and relegated to second-class citizens within a campaign in which they were the original members.

The manner in which some in the national team conducted themselves towards Team-NH was rude, unprofessional, dishonest, and at times cruel. But more concerning was how abrasive, discourteous, and dismissive some within the national team were towards many New Hampshire citizens. These are our neighbors and our friends, and some within the national team treated them more as a nuisance than as potential supporters.

Through all this chaos, Team-NH was never involved in the shifting strategy discussions. Team members were repeatedly ignored regarding simple requests, sometimes going weeks with little or no contact with the national team. Yet the members of Team-NH remained committed to Congressman Bachmann, often at peril to their own personal and professional reputations within New Hampshire.

Sadly, all of this could have been avoided. It saddens this team to see a dedicated patriot – a person so desperately needed in the White House – sequestered behind a wall of pretense, guarded by political operatives consumed by their own egos.

It is distressing that the motives of the members of Team-NH who are now departing the campaign are being questioned. Team-NH has always been dedicated to Congresswoman Bachmann. They’ve worked very hard over the past several months to ensure her success in NH. We wish her well and will continue to work toward our shared goal of making President Obama a one-term president.

Still, Bachmann had sharp words for the media calling them “irresponsible” and “reprehensible.”

“That is a shocking story to me,” Bachmann told Radio Iowa on Friday evening. “I don’t know where that came from. We have called staff in New Hampshire to find out where that came from and the staff have said that isn’t true, so I don’t know if this is just a bad story that’s being fed by a different candidate or campaign. I have no idea where this came from, but we’ve made calls and it’s certainly not true.”

Radio Iowa’s O. Kay Henderson followed up asking if Bachmann had had any defections from the campaign.

“Not to our knowledge,” Bachmann said. “We’re trying to call everyone and find out if there’s any truth to the story. Everyone that we’ve gotten a hold of has said that they were shocked as well. There’s no truth to that story, so this is a rumor and I think it’s highly reprehensible for the media to publish a story without calling us, the campaign, to even find out if that’s true. This is what’s really wrong with politics. It’s highly irresponsible media to spread stories and print stories that aren’t verified and aren’t true. I think this is wrong.”

As Bachmann denied any campaign staff had left as of Friday night, WMUR, the news outlet that broke the story that all her Granite State staffers had quit, also reported that at least one of Bachmann’s staffers had already been hired by Rick Perry’s campaign.

By Sunday it was clear that Bachmann had been taken out of the loop on developments within her own campaign.

On Fox News Sunday, Bachmann conceded that two of her staffers, communications director Jeff Chidester and field staffer Caroline Gilger, had resigned.

“We just didn’t know yesterday because they never talked to us, they just went to the press,” she said. “It would have been nice of them to talk to us. We understand that they want to campaign and work more, it’s just that we are spending our time and efforts in Iowa. We’re basically camping out in Iowa until the caucuses.”

Bachmann told Roll Call that her campaign would be replacing the staff that had left New Hampshire.

“We’re replacing the staff that we have in New Hampshire,” Bachmann said.

Bachmann did not have a large campaign staff in the Granite State and had focused much of her efforts in Iowa, but the news comes as a blow to a campaign that has floundered since briefly tasting success in the Iowa Straw Poll.

Her staff told reporters on Friday that they had intended to quit sooner, but waited so as not to damage her image. But by this week, they’d had enough frustration with the direction of the campaign and its lack of focus on New Hampshire.

The staffers still say they support the Congresswoman’s bid for the presidency.

Among those leaving are senior advisors Jeff Chidestar and Karen Testerman, director of operations Mattheu LeDuc, and field directors Caroline Gigler and Tom Lukacz,

Bachmann has a history of campaign and legislative staff turnover. In September, her top campaign staff left abruptly and her pollster quit in early October.

Since winning her congressional seat in 2006, Bachmann has had five congressional chiefs of staff, five press secretaries, four legislative directors and three communications directors.

Bachmann for President campaign manager Keith Nahigian passed a statement along on Friday afternoon saying the campaign knew nothing of the New Hampshire staff leaving:

“We have a great team in New Hampshire and we have not been notified that anyone is leaving the campaign. We look forward to spending more time in the Granite State between now and the primary, but our campaign has emphasized that our main focus is the first-in-the-nation caucus state of Iowa and we are continuing to build efforts there. While she will campaign in other states, Michele will spend the majority of her time in Iowa, doing what she does better than all the other candidates – retail politics – leading up to the all important caucuses.”

The fundraiser includes a town hall for $50 admission as well as a higher priced reception. Bachmann’s campaign said the goal is to help Bachmann win the Iowa Caucuses next year.

“While weekly polls have fluctuated between front runners, I am the only conservative candidate who has been consistent and straightforward in seeking the Republican nomination. With your help, we won the Iowa Straw Poll and we can win the caucus,” said an email to Bachmann’s supporters. “We are also doing all we can to invest resources and expand our reach in New Hampshire, South Carolina, Florida and other key states. By attending this event in Minneapolis, you will help us keep up the fight in Iowa and continue to grow our base of grassroots support all across the country.”

And the earlier date of the caucuses has necessitated a faster fundraising pace. “With the date of the Iowa caucus moving up, it is critical that we double the pace of my campaign in order to be successful in Iowa. I’m counting on the involvement of my Minnesota friends and supporters like you at this critical time.”

Bachmann sent out a campaign video for the event:

Ticket prices for the town hall and reception begin at $50 just for the town hall and $5,000 for a private reception.

Parry, a relative newcomer to politics, won his seat in the Minnesota state Senate in a special election in February 2010 and then won re-election that November. He’s the owner of a pizza restaurant in Waseca.

Parry is facing a host of potential competitors for the GOP endorsement, but on Monday received the support of GOP State Party Deputy Chair Michael Brodkorb, who resigned to advise Parry’s campaign.

MPR reports that State DFL Chair Ken Martin slammed Parry as “an angry, ultra conservative Tea-Party Republican more concerned with pandering to the right wing and special interests than he is with working to improve our state economy, create jobs or build a more prosperous future for middle-class families.”

Parry’s become known in Minnesota politics for his liberal and incendiary use of Twitter. He created a minor national incident when he was running for his current seat and tweeted that President Obama “is a power hungry arrogant black man.”

Another tweet at the time read, “What’s with the Dems and Pedophiles?”

During the 2011 state government shutdown, Parry tweeted that he thought Gov. Mark Dayton should resign.

“With all due respect, Mondale and Carlson need to stay in their rockers unless they can get Dayton to do the right thing. … RESIGN!” he tweeted.

That led to a strong rebuke from the editorial boards of newspapers in his district.

On the legislative front, Parry proposed a constitutional amendment on Minnesota sovereignty.

The bill would have made Minnesota the first state to require a two-thirds majority vote in the legislature to approve federal laws affecting the state. “Minnesotans enjoy inherent, natural, God-given rights,” the bill read, and “Citizens of Minnesota are sovereign individuals, subject to Minnesota law and immune from any federal laws that exceed the federal government’s enumerated constitutional powers.”

Mayor Michael Jugovich of Chisholm and Mayor Craig Pulford of Buhl threw their support behind Fanning.

“Fanning has already been a strong advocate for the Range on the federal level, and we need that to continue,” said Jugovich. “He’s the guy we need representing us in Congress next year and for years to come. He has spent a lot of time here on the Range and knows our issues. He has listened to our concerns and walked through our community, even our sewer system, with us. He gets it. He’s going to be a great Congressman.”

Also vying for the DFL party nod are former congressman Rick Nolan, Duluth City Councilor Jeff Anderson and former state Sen. Tarryl Clark. Cravaack, a Republican, won the reliably DFL district in an upset against Rep. Jim Oberstar in 2010.

The Duluth News Tribune reports that Fanning made the announcement at the Duluth City Hall and that he’s running because he doesn’t like the direction Cravaack is taking the district.

Fanning joins former congressman Rick Nolan, Duluth City Councilor Jeff Anderson and former state Sen. Tarryl Clark. All are vying to take out Chip Cravaack, a Republican who won the reliably DFL district in an upset against Rep. Jim Oberstar.

“The three other candidates are all good people, and I think that any one of them would be a better representative for the 8th District than what we have now. But there seemed to be an enthusiasm gap on the DFL side,” Fanning said.

Fanning enlisted in the Army National Guard after September 11 as a result of a “sense of patriotism.” He served in combat in Iraq in 2003 and 2004, and has been outspoken against the war since.

Here’s video of his story:

Lynne Torgerson launched her second campaign against Rep. Keith Ellison on the 10th anniversary of 9/11 this weekend at her home in Golden Valley, calling for a return to “Judeo-Christian values” and labeling Ellison as a “radical Islamist” who wants to do away with the U.S. Constitution.

Torgerson, who has the backing of Tea Party Nation, also took shots at fellow Republican challenger Chris Fields for his divorce and support for LGBT rights.

Torgerson is running for the Republican nomination in Minnesota’s 5th Congressional District. Earlier this year, she told Tea Party Nation that she would be running—the group backed her previous run for office. Torgerson raised $60,000 in the last cycle—nearly as much as the Republican in the race. She self-financed $25,000 of that money and she was the only Minnesota-based donor to her campaign; all other contributions are from out of state. She ran as an unaffiliated independent.

One of Torgerson’s main issues is an opposition to civil rights for gay people. She said homosexuality goes against “natural law.”

“Two men cannot make a baby. Two women cannot make a baby. Further, all cultures which have evidenced moral decline have fallen,” she wrote. “Homosexuality has traditionally been seen as evidence of moral decline. Thus, homosexuality is not good for America, nor any culture.”

Torgerson told Golden Valley Patch at her 9/11 campaign launch that she was “entering the race to stand for the moral, Judeo-Christian values the country was founded upon. That’s our foundation, and if we don’t have our foundation in place, then the economy and things aren’t going to be doing so well.”

She said it was important to her to support the U.S. Constitution.

“I still need to expose Keith Ellison for being a radical Islamist. I do believe that he says he does eventually want to replace the U.S. Constitution with sharia law,” Torgerson said.

Torgerson told Patch she recently asked Ellison whether he believed the Constitution or “Sharia law” was supreme.

“He evaded the question,” she said. “He refuses to state that the U.S. Constitution should be supreme over Sharia law, which is to me quite surprising. He talked about how the Constitution has been amended and it appears that he would amend the Constitution to incorporate Sharia law.”

Torgerson’s question was caught on video posted by her campaign. In the exchange, Ellison said there are no communities in the United States that have tried to install Sharia law.

“I believe that the United States Constitution which has been amended well over 25 times is the bedrock of American law,” Ellison said. “This whole movement to try to ban Sharia, this bill has been introduced in over 22 states, in my view, this is a very thin-disguised effort at religious persecution of people who are Muslim.”