Photo: Minnesota Independent

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.

In a post announcing his decision to run the gubernatorial campaign of Matt Entenza, Kos contributor Dana Houle manages to mention Bachmann no fewer than five times. By contrast, no Republican who is actually running for governor merits a mention.

We continue to hear speculation that she may run for Governor. And being a governor is usually a good platform from which one could run for President. And Michele Bachmann is waiting for the call from God to tell her to run.

I expect it to be a lot of fun working with Matt and helping him get elected governor of Minnesota. But it will be even more fun if along the way we get to defeat Michele Bachmann.

Is Houle is privy to some inside dope about Bachmann’s electoral plans? Not likely. But nothing elevates the heartbeats (and opens the wallets) of the liberal blogosphere like the prospect of unseating the flamboyant Republican. Raising the specter of, say, Marty Seifert occupying the governor’s mansion just doesn’t have the same effect.

Matt Entenza Photo: Wikipedia

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 bid it seemed likely that the veteran political operative would soon 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.

“This is a challenging race with many good candidates,” said Entenza in a statement announcing the move. “Dana’s broad experience and smarts will be tremendously valuable as we continue to pursue the DFL endorsement and victory in 2010.”

Indeed Houle has racked up an impressive track record of knocking off GOP incumbents in congressional races around the country. In 2006 he helped Paul Hodes defeat a sitting Republican in New Hampshire. Two years later he oversaw Jim Himes’ successful challenge to a 10-term Republican incumbent in Connecticut.

So why is he sticking around Minnesota to take on a gubernatorial race? Reached at Entenza’s office, Houle does concede that the opportunity to experience a Minnesota winter was a prime draw, along with the possibility of consuming an entire four-course meal off of a stick. “I couldn’t leave before the State Fair,” he laughs.

More seriously, Houle says that Entenza contacted him within 90 minutes of the announcement that Tinklenberg was shutting down his campaign. In addition, Houle didn’t see any other House races that looked particularly enticing.

“In a sense I’ve done that and I wanted to look for a new type of challenge,” he says. “This is the only race I’d consider running, but for some reason I thought that Matt already had a campaign manager. So things worked out nicely.”

The marquee hiring is another sign that Entenza intends to do (and spend) whatever it takes to head the Democratic ticket. Houle says that the candidate’s emphasis in the coming months will be on talking to potential DFL delegates and securing their support for the party’s endorsement.

“He’s showing he has the ability to be a great governor, but also showing that he has the capacity to win,” Houle says.

Photo: Laura Markwardt, Flickr

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 nor 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.

But last week, the game of political peekaboo came to a close when Clark filed papers establishing a campaign committee and then announced her entry into the 6th district race via an online video. On Tuesday, her fledgling campaign received a significant bump when Elwyn Tinklenberg announced that he was dropping out of the congressional contest.

“I’m sure that it was a tough decision for him,” Clark told MnIndy via cell phone after a visit to Farmfest. “We’ve been united in the desire to make sure that real representation is available for the people of the 6th district. I worked with him in the last race. I hope when he has some time he’ll be willing to come and work with me.”

Tinklenberg did not endorse either of the remaining challengers when he ended his campaign. Clark vows to abide by the DFL endorsement, a stance that will likely endear her to the party faithful. Maureen Reed, currently her only rival for party backing, has not made such a vow. Despite the intra-party battle, Clark says she intends to emphasize Bachmann’s divisive rhetoric and lack of attention to issues of importance to district’s residents.

“What I keep hearing from people is they’re worried about their jobs, they’re worried about losing their house, they’re worried about escalating health-care costs,” she said. “Those are the issues that aren’t just being addressed right now by our current representation.”

Tinklenberg’s decision to drop out of the race was partly driven by a difficult fund-raising climate. Reed, by contrast, raised an impressive $230,000 in the two months after announcing her campaign. With 49 Democrats across the country running for re-election in districts that John McCain carried during the 2008 presidential campaign, most of the emphasis will undoubtedly be on protecting currently held seats. But Clark believes she will be able to raise enough money to run a credible, effective campaign against Bachmann.

“Certainly with so many people running for governor and other things, that can be challenging,” she said. “But what I’m finding so far is that people are so excited about the possibility of having someone who will focus on creating positive solutions instead of creating controversy that they’re willing to stand up and help.”

“First and foremost, I want to thank El Tinklenberg for his dedication to public service. He has worked hard on behalf of the citizens of the sixth district and this state as Mayor of Blaine, State Transportation Commissioner and as a Congressional Candidate. El is a tremendous public servant. I wish him the best in his future endeavors.”

Elwyn Tinklenberg (Photo: Paul Demko)

A tough fundraising 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.

“Fundraising is difficult for everybody right now, not just here in this district but nationally,” said Dana Houle, who last week signed on to be Tinklenberg’s campaign manager. “Asking people for contributions so that the next 13 months could be spent running against Democrats was just a really difficult thing to look at.”

Tinklenberg finished the last campaign with nearly $500,000 in the bank, a result of being flooded with donations in the final weeks of the campaign following Bachmann’s infamous “Hardball” meltdown. But that slush fund had largely been spent in the ensuing months, most notably through a pair of $125,000 contributions to the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee in March. At the end of June, Tinklenberg had just under $200,000 in the bank.

Houle said he remains confident that Tinklenberg could have defeated Bachmann, but that the entry of state Senate Assistant Majority Leader Tarryl Clark into the race made it clear that the path to the general election would be extremely arduous. Tinklenberg will not immediately endorse either of the remaining challengers.

“It’s premature at this point,” Houle said. “It’s still a long ways before the convention and 13 months before the primary. We don’t know what the field will look like.”

Houle moved to Minnesota from Washington, D.C., to helm Tinklenberg’s campaign. He’s been living with the candidate and his wife, however, so the aborted effort won’t be too much of an inconvenience.

“It’s not a big disruption in my life,” he said. “I’m confident I’ll end up on another campaign.”

Nancy Schumaker, chair of the 6th District DFL, said Tinklenberg left her a message this morning breaking the news.

“I’m sorry because El is a very, very nice, terrific man,” she said. “I’m very much sorry to see him go.”

Schumaker said a three-candidate primary would have sharpened the political skills of Bachmann’s would-be challengers, but also acknowledges that Tinklenberg’s departure should make for a less bloody intra-party contest.

“When you have two people instead of three, of course the odds improve,” she said. “It’s just simple math.”

Clark at the 2008Regina Medical Center strike in Hastings. Photo: Paul Demko

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.

“AFSCME Council 5 is proud to be one of the very first organizations to endorse Tarryl Clark to run against Michele Bachmann in the 6th Congressional District,” said AFSCME president Mike Buesing, in a statement announcing the decision. “Tarryl Clark has been one of AFSCME’s best friends in the state legislature and she has earned our support as a champion for working families.”

AFSCME, which represents government workers, has roughly 5,000 members eligible to vote in the Sixth District. Clark, the state Senate Assistant Majority Leader, is now one of two Democratic candidates seeking to challenge incumbent GOP Rep. Michele Bachmann.

UPDATE: Jim Niland, AFSCME Council 5’s political action director, says the timing of the endorsement is coincidental. The union, which backed Tinklenberg in 2008, held its screening for the Sixth District contest last night. Tinklenberg did not show up, so only Clark and Maureen Reed were vetted. Clark was endorsed unanimously. “It was a fairly short conversation,” says Niland. “She’s one of the best friends of labor and working families in the state.”

“This is obviously not an easy decision for me, but I have come to the conclusion that it’s the right one,” Tinklenberg said in a statement. “While the image of the next campaign against Michele Bachmann is certainly energizing, the path to that campaign is becoming increasingly improbable.“

The announcement comes barely a week after Tinklenberg officially entered the fray. He’d even hired a campaign manager recommended by the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee with a track record of ousting incumbent Republicans. Tinklenberg’s departure from the race means that former Independence Party Lt. Gov. Candidate Maureen Reed and state Assistant Senate Majority Leader Tarryl Clark will now fight for the DFL endorsement.

Here’s Tinklenberg’s entire statement:

I am announcing that as of today I am terminating my campaign for Congress. This is obviously not an easy decision for me, but I have come to the conclusion that it’s the right one. While the image of the next campaign against Michele Bachmann is certainly energizing, the path to that campaign is becoming increasingly improbable. I’m proud of our last campaign. We did better than almost anyone outside the campaign expected. We built a national support base and proved that a strong Democrat with enough time and resources could win in the Sixth District.

Now, however, we are faced with the prospect of the next thirteen months being a battle among Democrats. In a difficult district during tough financial times we will be spending large amounts of time and money trying to defeat each other rather than defeating Michele Bachmann. That is not a campaign I want to wage nor is it the kind of campaign that strengthens our chances of electing a Democrat next fall.

This has never been about me, it’s about restoring responsible productive representation to the Sixth District. It is my hope that by removing myself from the race, I am advancing our chances of achieving that goal.

I want to thank all of those people who have supported me and encouraged me over the last several years in the campaigns in the Sixth District. It has been an honor and a privilege working with you. Rest assured, I have no intention of terminating my public involvement. There is much to do in the district and in the state, and I look forward to finding new opportunities to help where I can.

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 — as reported earlier this week by the MN Progressive Project — will be leading Elwyn Tinklenberg’s effort to unseat Michele Bachmann in Minnesota’s Sixth Congressional District.

“It’s the premier congressional race in the country,” says Houle, in explaining why he was attracted to the race.

“Elwyn almost beat Bachmann last time despite not getting resources until very late in the campaign. She is the poster child for right-wing extremism in Congress right now. People who don’t even follow politics closely know about Michele Bachmann.”

Houle was recommended to Tinklenberg by the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee. With Democrats defending 49 House seats in districts that John McCain carried in 2008, Democrats will undoubtedly pick their takeover targets carefully. But Houle is convinced that Tinklenberg will have sufficient financial resources to defeat Bachmann.

“We know there are many people in the district that love and adore her,” he acknowledges.

“It’s a Republican district. But we think that there’s enough people who are growing embarrassed by her that the right candidate can attract their vote away from her.”

Of course Tinklenberg will have to first get past what’s looking to be a crowded Democratic field. Former Independence Party Lt. Governor candidate Maureen Reed announced her candidacy in May and raised an impressive $230,000 in the ensuing two months. State Senate Assistant Majority Leader Tarryl Clark also officially became a candidate this week.

Houle says Tinklenberg plans to run in the primary election no matter who gets the party’s endorsement.

“We always knew we would have to do a primary, because Maureen Reed can’t get the endorsement and she knows that,” he says.

“She’s raising a lot of money and she’s going to run in the primary. … If somebody else gets the endorsement, that’s not going to deter us.”

Elsewhere in Minnesota headlines this morning…

FIRST AND SEVENTH CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICTS: GOP radio ads to target Dems on health care. First the Democratic National Committee aimed health-reform ads at their members of Congress, now Republicans are piling on. [MinnPost; The Hill]

DULUTH: Move for tighter conflict-of-interest rules fails. City councilors won’t restrict themselves from voting on matters in which family members have a stake, heeding advice from the mayor, who warned new rules would “introduce a world of gray into your world.” And heaven knows Duluth has enough gray.  [Duluth News Tribune]

CARLTON: First Hell’s Angels arrive. “Prospects and hang-arounds” are showing up in advance of an expected onslaught of motorcyclists from the notorious club on their USA Run. [Cloquet Pine Journal]

LAKE SUPERIOR: Report due on sunken military barrels. The Red Cliff Band of Lake Superior Ojibwe will tell what they’ve dredged up along the North Shore at a presentation in Duluth next week. [Duluth News Tribune]

ELK RIVER: County jail data online. Now you can look up whether your cousin is locked up from the comfort of your home computer. [St. Cloud Times]

TWIN CITIES: Local hotels emptying fastest. Hotels in the metro had the worst drop in occupancy last month among the nation’s top 25 hospitality markets. Y’all missed a nice June! [Travel Daily News]