Dan Powers, a former small business owner from Burnsville, announced his campaign for Congress on Monday in an open letter to Rep. John Kline, who he will challenge in 2012. “You represent the worst in politicians,” Powers wrote. Powers briefly ran against Kline in the 2010 election, but lost the DFL primary to former legislator Shelley Madore.

In a separate letter to DFL activists on Monday, Powers asked for support. “My name is Dan Powers and I am running for Congress in the Second Congressional District,” he wrote. “I am not running to make a statement. I am running to make a difference. I am running to win.”

Powers cited energy independence, health care reform and infrastructure improvements as key issues.

In his letter to Kline, Powers accused Kline of racking up the federal deficit.

“I wanted to let you know that I do not think you understand what our congressional district or the country really need,” he wrote. “You have consistently voted for continuing war resolutions throughout the last 10 years and have also voted consistently for more and more tax breaks for the most wealthy in our country. Continuing with your spending spree, for several years you have pushed funding for a spare engine for the Joint Strike Fighter, that the Defense Department does not want or need. Many reasons exist for our debt situation but through your direct action you have contributed to make things worse. Our countries debt has skyrocketed while you have been in office.”

Neither Powers nor Madore raised much money in the run up to the 2010 election. Kline’s district is one of the most conservative in the state.

Shelley Madore

Former state legislator Shelley Madore defeated DFL-endorsed Dan Powers by a large margin Tuesday, 54 to 45 percent, and will take on Rep. John Kline in the November general election. Madore challenged Powers after losing the endorsement at the DFL convention. Though she originally said she’d abide by the endorsement, Madore jumped into the race in April, frustrating some DFL activists.

“The voters tonight stepped up and said, you know what? We want a strong challenger against John Kline and they made a choice tonight,” Madore told the Star Tribune late night. “I am prepared. We are ready to go. Our race against John Kline starts tomorrow morning at 9 a.m.”

MnIndy photo composite

Congresswoman Michele Bachmann — like Rep. Joe Barton (R-Texas) — has taken plenty of heat for language perceived as supportive of BP, the company behind the colossal oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. Bachmann got a surprise grilling from Fox’s Bill O’Reilly for calling the Obama administration’s negotiation for a $20 billion victims fund “extortion.” Barton, who most prominently called the fund a “shakedown,” was shamed into retracting his public apology to BP. But Second District Rep. John Kline has largely dodged criticism for endorsing similar language. Kline and Bachmann are both members of the Republican Study Committee, a group that officially has stated the escrow fund is the result of Obama’s “brand of Chicago-style shakedown politics.”

The RSC statement of last Wednesday seems to have generated little attention in Minnesota, meriting a reference in a Bemidji Pioneer editorial Friday, but few other mentions. But that opinion packed a punch. Citing the RSC opinion on the escrow fund, the editorial board wrote:

There can be no other reason for the opposition than the fact that President Obama supports it.

It’s a sad case when politics colors all your decisions. BP caused the oil spill, and is responsible for stopping it and cleaning up its mess. It’s only fair that it pay for the lost business that accrues from the company’s error of misfortune.

Who’s the greedier? BP or congressional Republicans?

The statement, issued by RSC chair Rep. Tom Price, clearly states BP should be held accountable for the “tragedy” and cleanup, then says that “BP has already begun paying claims.” (On Friday, the House Judiciary Committee reported that BP had paid less than 12 percent of outstanding claims to victims of the spill; it notes that BP has “not paid a single dollar to the individuals or businesses harmed by the [April 20] explosion and the oil spill.”)

Price’s statement continued:

“BP’s reported willingness to go along with the White House’s new fund suggests that the Obama Administration is hard at work exerting its brand of Chicago-style shakedown politics.  These actions are emblematic of a politicization of our economy that has been borne out of this Administration’s drive for greater power and control.  It is the same mentality that believes an economic crisis or an environmental disaster is the best opportunity to pursue a failed liberal agenda.  The American people know much better.”

Bachmann and Kline are among 114 members of the RSC.

Over the weekend, Bachmann was grilled by Fox’s Bill O’Reilly for calling Obama’s securing of victim-relief funds “extortion” and a “shakedown.” “I’m not agreeing with that,” he said of the terminology before stating that “Obama did absolutely the right thing” in negotiating for the funds.

“I’d go in there with a machine gun if I were president and say, ‘Hey, you put that money in here or you’re not getting out of the room,” O’Reilly added. “I think this is the best thing Obama did in the entire mess, getting the $20 billion.”

Kline, as City Pages notes, is Minnesota’s top recipient of campaign contributions from BP, taking in nearly $130,000. Bachmann got the second-largest take from BP, at more than $70,000.

Bachmann will face off with DFL state Sen. Tarryl Clark this fall, while Kline will be challenged by Democrat Dan Powers.

Dan Powers, Jim Meffert

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’ opponent, Shelley Madore, will also abide by the endorsement.

Meffert, head of the Minnesota Optometric Association and past Parent Teacher Association president, won the DFL endorsement in Minnesota’s 3rd Congressional District and will take on Paulsen in November, barring any primary challengers. He told the convention after winning the endorsement, “I will fight for the 180,000 Minnesota children living in poverty. I will fight for the 480,000 Minnesotans without health insurance. And I will never stop fighting for our children. I will never stop fighting for our families. And I will never stop fighting for you.”

Maureen Hackett, his DFL opponent for the endorsement, sent a message to her campaign supporters saying, “While today didn’t turn out as I would’ve liked for our campaign, it was a great day for our party as we united behind Jim Meffert as the DFL candidate who’s going to beat Erik Paulsen this fall.”

The UpTake captured a number of scenes from the convention, including reactions from Meffert:

Dan Powers, a Burnsville construction contractor, was endorsed by 2nd Congressional District DFL activists over former legislator Shelley Madore. Madore conceded on the second ballot and, barring a late entry into the race for the primary, Powers will be taking on Kline in the fall.

“John Kline is vulnerable — he’s an obstacle to middle class prosperity and he refuses to listen to our community’s concerns. He’s voted against reforming our health care system and ensuring our parents and grandparents aren’t bankrupted by the high costs of Medicare Part D,” Powers said in a statement following the endorsement. “He’s voted against student lending reform. His town hall meetings are barely publicized and he turns people away if they don’t agree with him ideologically.”

Here’s Powers’ reaction to the endorsement:

The Faribault Daily News interviewed Wardere, who says he hasn’t sought advice from Coleman, his former employer.

On American foreign policy, Wardere says:

“Anybody who brings peace, you have to praise,” Wardere said. “We must worry about passing insecurity to our children and grandchildren the same way we worry about passing the deficit to them. We must pass them many friends, not many enemies.”

He would also work on legislation that defines the goal of the war on terror, clarifies the U.S.’s position and expedites ending wars.

“Washington has sent many conflicting broad and vague messages to the world, and some of them are self-defeating,” he said. “Our message should be simple and clear: we have been attacked, and we will attack anyone who wants to harm us and we will defend our people, period.”

Wardere’s name appeared in the news on election night 2008 when allegations arose that a Somali translator encouraging people to vote for Coleman at the voting booth.

“Honestly there is a job that needs to be done that’s not getting done now,” Powers tells the Minnesota Independent. “I’m in a position where construction is pretty slow, I like politics and I honestly think I can get the job done.”

The Democrat believes that Kline has not served the residents of his suburban district well by unrealistically insisting that the country’s beleaguered health-care system be rebuilt from scratch. “You have to work with what you have,” he says. “I think that’s what most people are frustrated about.”

Powers also cites energy costs — and the need for more renewable sources of energy — as a primary issue motivating him to run. “It’s actually a national security issue,” he says. “We have to solve our energy problem.”

Few political observers expect Kline to be in much danger of losing re-election. Neither the Cook Political Report nor the Rothenberg Political Report include the second district race on their lists of competitive House races. In each of the last three election cycles, Kline has defeated his opponents by at least 14 percentage points. Last year he knocked of DFL challenger Steve Sarvi by a 57-43 percent margin.

But Powers argues that Kline is more politically vulnerable than at any other time since first being elected in 2002. He notes that a majority of the state legislative seats in the district are now controlled by Democrats.

Powers flirted with a run against Kline in 2008. But he dropped out of the contest early on after realizing that he wouldn’t be able to raise enough money to be competitive. This election cycle he hopes to prove himself a credible challenger by building up a significant campaign war chest in the coming months.

“The most important thing is just flat out raising the money,” he says. “Nobody’s going to take me seriously, or any other candidate seriously, if you can’t put some solid numbers behind the campaign.”

Elsewhere in Minnesota news this morning …

SAVAGE: The Powers that might be. DFLer Dan Powers is set to run against U.S. Rep. John Kline with ready road metaphors, saying Kline likes our “endless road of overseas combat” and is “a roadblock” to President Obama. [Polinaut; Facebook]

MOOSE LAKE: TVs tip of iceberg. Gov. Pawlenty overspends millions of dollars confining sex offenders beyond their jail terms, writes State Sen. Linda Berglin; meanwhile, the TVs didn’t make the latest state auction of used items. [Star Tribune; Associated Press]

MINNEAPOLIS-ST. PAUL INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT: Feds question pilots who overshot Twin Cities. Their straying plane may even have been tracked by Obama, if his Minnesota retinue of schedulers determined it vaunted influence. [KEYC-TV; Associated Press; Star Tribune]

HUGO: Flying wheelchair arrives on time. Thanks to gravity and a $2,500 trebuchet. [St. Paul Pioneer Press]

SIXTH CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICT: PACs starving Bachmann. U.S. Rep. Michele Bachmann gets dwindling amounts of campaign cash from political action committees each quarter, but she’s doing well with a certain bespectacled, bow-tied pundit. [Smart Politics; Washington Post]

MOUNTAIN IRON: Tour aimed at stimulus cash for schools. Education Commissioner Alice Seagren earns her own performance pay by leading a four-day tour of the state for ideas to get Minnesota a share of $4 billion in federal funds. [Associated Press]