Kate Knuth

Ominous news about job losses and financial woes at Minnesota hospitals over the last week coincide with Gov. Pawlenty’s line-item veto of $381 million in General Assistance Medical Care (GAMC) grants and his vow to make more cuts by unallotment. But as bad as the doomsday scenarios are, they shouldn’t include St. Paul’s Regions Hospital closing — a prospect that a DFL press release warned of over the weekend.

This year there were at least nine state House contests that were rematches from 2006. In three instances, challengers successfully avenged their previous defeats.

After a tough 2006 electoral battle in which Democrat Ken Tschumper prevailed over incumbent Gregory Davids, the opponents will face off again this year. It is perhaps the most intriguing rematch of the electoral season, but it’s far from the only one. There are at least seven other competitive state House contests that pit foes against each other for a second — or even third — time.