Elwyn Tinklenberg

Is Michele Bachmann running for governor? There certainly doesn’t seem to be any credible indication that the 6th Congressional District representative is seriously mulling a bid for the state’s top elected office. But Daily Kos readers could be forgiven for thinking otherwise.

Dana Houle came to Minnesota with one goal in mind: defeating U.S. Rep. Michele Bachmann. So when Elwyn Tinklenberg, whose campaign Houle was managing, decided to pull the plug on his congressional run it seemed likely that the veteran political operative would be headed back to Washington, D.C. But Houle apparently couldn’t resist the allure of Minnesota in winter: he’s now the campaign manager for Matt Entenza’s gubernatorial campaign.

No politician has been subject to more speculation about her plans for the 2010 campaign cycle than state Sen. Tarryl Clark. While seemingly every prominent Democrat in the state lined up to announce they were mulling a bid for the governor’s office, Clark remained mum. When political chatter turned to the 6th Congressional District contest, the Senate’s assistant majority leader neither confirmed or denied that she was eyeing a run to unseat U.S. Rep. Michele Bachmann. Clark enjoyed two months of having her name bandied about on blogs and political websites, while largely keeping her mouth shut.

Maureen Reed has issued a statement about Elwyn Tinklenberg’s decision to drop out of the Sixth Congressional District contest. The former Independence Party Lt. Governor candidate is now one of two contenders vying for the DFL nod to challenge incumbent GOP Rep. Michele Bachmann. Here’s the statement:

A tough fund-raising climate and crowded candidate field contributed to Elwyn Tinklenberg’s decision to pull out of the 6th Congressional District contest just one week after announcing his candidacy. The former Blaine mayor, who in 2008 narrowly lost to the Republican incumbent, U.S. Rep. Michele Bachmann, raised just $55,000 in the second quarter of this year and faced two challengers from within the DFL.

AFSCME Council 5 — one of the largest labor unions in the state — has endorsed Tarryl Clark in the Sixth Congressional District contest. The announcement comes almost immediately after Elwyn Tinklenberg ended his campaign.

Elwyn Tinklenberg is terminating his campaign for Congress. The former Blaine mayor, who lost to U.S. Rep. Michele Bachmann by just three percentage points in 2008, made the surprise announcement in a press release issued this morning.

St. Cloud State University College Democrats have endorsed state Sen. Tarryl Clark in her congressional bid, according to the Political Quarry blog. Clark is vying with former Blaine Mayor Elwyn Tinklenberg and former Independence Party Lt. Governor candidate Maureen Reed for the DFL endorsement. They are all seeking to oust two-term U.S. Rep. Michele Bachmann.

Dana Houle has a track record of knocking out Republican incumbents. In 2006 he helmed Paul Hodes’ campaign in New Hampshire, defeating the sitting Republican after losing by 20 points two years earlier. Then in 2008 he oversaw Jim Himes’ successful challenge to 10-term Republican incumbent Chris Shays in Connecticut. Now Houle will be leading Elwyn Tinklenberg’s effort to unseat Michele Bachmann in Minnesota’s Sixth Congressional District.

Bad news for fish and Michele Bachmann: Norm Coleman says he will “do a lot of fishing” while taking another nine or ten months to decide whether to run for governor, and state Sen. Tarryl Clark has checked a box on a federal form suggesting she’ll run to replace Bachmann in Congress. (Another DFLer with sights [...]