Steve Sarvi

Dan Powers will seek the DFL endorsement to take on U.S. Rep John Kline in the Second Congressional District. The construction contractor and Burnsville resident argues that the four-term Republican incumbent is out of touch with his constituents.

Democrat Steve Sarvi, seeking to gain some momentum against Rep. John Kline, released a new television commercial today. Sarvi has struggled to raise sufficient funds to put pressure on the incumbent, with just over $150,000 in the bank as of last week. But according to his campaign, the commercial will air more than 100 times [...]

Congressional Quarterly released its election rankings for Senate and House races throughout the country, and it isn’t good news for Republicans. In all, 74 Democratic House candidates improved in CQ’s rankings compared to just nine for Republicans. In terms of Senate races, Democrats’ chances improved in 14 races compared to just two for Republicans.
In Minnesota, [...]

Foreclosures are rising rapidly in John Kline’s 2nd Congressional District, where counties like Le Sueur and Carver saw foreclosures spike by more than 140 percent last year. Most of the district is experiencing a foreclosure rate that surpasses the national average, and the numbers are expected to rise this year. With the economy in a slump and a consistent record of voting against foreclosure prevention and help, is Kline’s reelection in jeopardy?

At the end of yesterday’s Michele Obama rally in St. Paul I ran into Second Congressional District challenger Steve Sarvi. When I asked the Democrat how that afternoon’s debate with Rep. John Kline had gone, his response was surprisingly noncommittal. He practically shrugged his shoulders. Having just watched the debate via the Uptake, I can understand why the candidate couldn’t muster any self-serving spin. Let’s put it kindly in cliched sports terms: The challenger did not deliver a game-changing performance.

A pair of new polls show John McCain and Barack Obama locked in an extremely tight contest in Minnesota. A Quinnipiac University Polling Institute survey has Obama garnering support from 47 percent of likely voters, while McCain is backed by 45 percent. The American Research Group finds similar results, with Obama at 48 percent, one [...]

Last night the House of Representatives passed legislation overturning a 27-year-old moratorium on new offshore oil wells. The bill would allow for oil exploration beginning 50 miles off the coasts of the Atlantic and Pacific oceans, as well as some portions of the Gulf of Mexico. It would also strip out $14 billion in tax [...]

Congressional challenger Steve Sarvi’s campaign is touting new polling data that suggest Rep. John Kline is more vulnerable than generally perceived. Most notably, in a generic ballot, the Republican and Democratic parties each received support from 40 percent of respondents. What’s more, only 39 percent of those surveyed cited Kline’s job performance as good or [...]

Steve Sarvi first met Rep. John Kline in 2004, at Camp Bondsteel in southern Kosovo. The staff seargent was serving with the Minnesota National Guard, patrolling the border with Macedonia for smugglers. The then-freshman congressman was on a fact-finding mission and stopped by to visit with troops and gauge morale.

What Kline heard from the [...]