Rep. Erik Paulsen, R-Minn., on Monday ruled out running for governor or Senate for 2014, leaving Democratic Sen. Al Franken still without a challenger.
“After thinking carefully about how I can best help my fellow Minnesotans, I have decided to not seek election for a different office in 2014,” Paulsen said in a statement. “The warm encouragement from many people to run for U.S. senator or the governorship was deeply humbling. However, it is clear to me that the House is currently where I can best represent the people of my district and state.”
Paulsen had indicated some interest in the race earlier this year but was never considered likely to run. He joins fellow GOP Rep. John Kline in opting not to take on Franken in his first bid for re-election.
Mike McFadden, the head of a finance management firm, is considering challenging Franken. The senator had $2 million in cash on hand as of the end of March.
Minnesota Sen. Al Franken’s re-election campaign and the Ready for Hillary super PAC made public Wednesday new hires to their organizations.
Franken’s team announced that Matt Burgess has been hired to manage the Democrat’s 2014 re-election campaign, according to Minnesota Public Radio. Burgess is a longtime Democratic operative, with former stints at EMILY’s List and the Service Employees International Union, among others.
The super PAC devoted to drafting Hillary Rodham Clinton into the 2016 presidential race, Ready for Hillary PAC, announced Wednesday that it has hired Nickie Titus to be its digital director.
Titus spent the 2012 cycle on now-Sen. Tim Kaine’s, D-Va., campaign. She previously worked for the new media firm Blue State Digital and, like Burgess, she came up through the ranks at EMILY’s List.
CQ Roll Call recently took a look at who else is behind the Draft Hillary effort.
Republicans are searching for a candidate willing to challenge Sen. Al Franken in 2014. (Douglas Graham/CQ Roll Call File Photo)
Updated 8:01 p.m. | For a brief period on Wednesday it appeared Republicans could count Rep. Erik Paulsen, R-Minn., out of the race against Sen. Al Franken, D-Minn., in 2014.
“No, that’s ridiculous,” Paulsen said, when Minnesota Public Radio asked him about running. However, the MPR report was updated later with a clarification from the congressman’s office. His use of the word “ridiculous” wasn’t in reference to the Senate race after all. It had to do with his vote on the fiscal cliff deal. Here’s MPR’s update:
Paulsen’s office says his use of the word “ridiculous” wasn’t about running for Senate. A spokesman says Paulsen used the word in the context to the preface of the question that mentioned Paulsen’s “no” vote on the fiscal cliff deal before asking whether he was running for Senate.
Republicans have talked up Paulsen, as well as his colleague Rep. John Kline, as potential Franken challengers. Neither Republican has ruled out a bid publicly.
Meanwhile, Kline “continues to keep all options on the table,” according to his spokesman, Troy Young.
In 2008, Franken won one of the closest Senate races in decades following a lengthy recount. He has indicated that he plans to seek re-election next year.
CQ Roll Call rates this race as Leans Democratic.
Roll Call’s initial Senate ratings outlook projects a potentially bullish cycle for Republicans, with an opportunity to recapture the majority for the first time in eight years.
But that’s exactly how things looked two years before the 2012 elections, when Democrats surprised many with victories in Missouri and North Dakota on their way to picking up two seats. So the challenge for the GOP and incoming National Republican Senatorial Committee Chairman Jerry Moran of Kansas is to capitalize on their opportunities.
That and how voters feel about President Barack Obama in 2014 could determine how the parties fare at the ballot box less than two years from now. Democrats won their current majority in 2006, in the second midterm election under President George W. Bush.
Republicans are hoping Obama’s second midterm is similarly kind to them, if not equal to the president’s 2010 midterm shellacking, when the GOP won seven seats (and control of the House) despite beginning the cycle as the underdog.
State Rep. Kurt Bills has won the Minnesota GOP endorsement to challenge Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D).
“Congratulations to Kurt Bills on receiving the Republican endorsement to run for US Senate,” state GOP Chairman Pat Shortridge and Deputy Chairwoman Kelly Fenton wrote in a joint statement. Full story
Campaigns have until Sunday to file Federal Election Commission reports, but a few campaigns made their numbers public today.
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