To top things off, Betsy Wergin was recently appointed to the Public Utilities Commission by Tim Pawlenty opening the Senate seat for a special election tied in with the general election in November.
Will Mary Kiffmeyer get out of 16B and move over to the Senate race?
Will Mark Olson try for the Senate seat?
As of noon today (July 15) Rep. Mark Olson, R-Big Lake, has not filed for office. Olson is at the Capitol, holed up in his office at last check.
One question is whether Olson, who would face former secretary of state Mary Kiffmeyer if he elects to seek his old district seat, will do that or attempt to win a seat in the Minnesota Senate.
Also, it is interesting to note that a reporter saw Olson at the Capitol yesterday and asked him about filing for the 16B seat. I have to wonder what time that was at given that Olson was scheduled to be at an Education Minnesota candidate screening and called to cancel because of a "meeting".
As of noon today (July 14) Olson, who lost his district endorsement to former secretary of state Mary Kiffmeyer, hadn’t filed for office.
When a reporter saw Olson at a cash machine at the Capitol today and asked about his political plans, Olson refused to comment.
Pressed whether he had made up his mind one way or the other on running, Olson replied that he was “working at it.”
Olson’s office late last week indicated the lawmaker would release a press release tomorrow — last day of filing.
Who will the DFL choose to run for the State Senate seat? I nominated former House District 16B candidate, Jim Huhtala, for the position but he promptly told me that he was no longer interested and preferred to do lawn maintenance (he has a really big lawn folks!) rather than run another election.
If Kiffmeyer abandons the 16B seat can Republicans, in good conscience, vote for a man convicted of assaulting his wife?
So, let's turn this into a prediction thread. Leave your predicitions in the comment section.
