Sharon Sund campaigns to break GOP stranglehold in 3rd Congressional District

Minnesota’s 3rd Congressional District, which encompasses the wealthy suburbs west of Minneapolis, should be competitive. Political strategists have often rated the district a tossup, but Republican Rep. Erik Paulsen has managed to keep the district in Republican hands following the 2008 retirement of moderate Rep. Jim Ramstad, even winning by double digits in 2010. As district resident Sharon Sund aims to change that, Paulsen is getting renewed attention from national Democrats, who are launching a new round of ads against him.

Some pundits eye Paulsen/Meffert race as potential DFL pickup

While most eyes are focused on Minnesota’s 6th Congressional District and the spectacle that is already Rep. Michele Bachmann vs. Sen. Tarryl Clark, some political watchers see a potential battle in Minnesota’s 3rd Congressional District between freshmen Republican Rep. Erik…

Meffert, Powers to take on Paulsen, Kline

At party conventions this weekend, DFLers Jim Meffert and Dan Powers advanced to the general election to take on Reps. Erik Paulsen and John Kline, respectively. Meffert’s DFL opponent, Maureen Hackett, said she is backing the endorsed candidate and Powers’…

MnIndy Video: Emanuel lauds Madia; Ramstad assails ‘gutter politics’

U.S. Rep. Rahm Emanuel, D-Ill., came to the Twin Cities today to support DFL congressional candidate Ashwin Madia in his bid to replace retiring Republican 3rd District U.S. Rep. Jim Ramstad. Emanuel lavished praise on Madia as the sort of practical politician who would be welcomed in the House Democratic caucus, which Emanuel leads. Both are sons of immigrants, with names that not everyone can spell, who in the course of their congressional campaigns have been called “carpetbagger.” In a separate press conference across town today, Ramstad himself assailed Madia and Democratic groups supporting him for engaging in “gutter politics.”

MnIndy video and more after the jump.