Almanac: At the Capitol

So much for the race to replace Congressman Jim Ramstad being a two-person race. The DFL field has gotten complicated. State Senator Terri Bonoff was the frontrunner or the only DFL candidate for a while, but that's no longer true. Dems have had a history of slugging it out to primaries while Republicans clear the field for one annointed candidate. Dems had been doing better at that in recent years realizing how it put them at a competitive disadvantage. I'm hearing other DFLers are getting into the race because there's a bit of uneasiness about Bonoff. She has great credentials and a solid resume. But in this new media world, one has to wonder if Minnesota Democrats Exposed video of her missteps at her campaign announcement have hurt her. I know a lot of MSM don't want to give bloggers that credit and power, but they're not to be overlooked. I've got to say to me Bonoff has been professional and pretty impressive, but this video does not look good. She is the only candidate for major office to personally call me to invite me to her kick off. That's a personal touch. But now that Edina Mayor Jim Hovland and Iraq war veteran Ashwin Madia are in the race it's gotten messy. Speaking of new media, Minnesota Campaign Report and Eric Black's new site have some interesting posts on this.