I’m still utterly bummed out about Hatch, and the session is looming. But a lot of folks I know will now grace those halls, and it is going to be different, kick ass instead of an ass-kicking, though I’ll try to find some reason to harrass Steve Sviggum before he resigns (wonder who he’s been grooming down there). Here’s one of the biggest losers:
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Some of the winners:

I’m thrilled Tom Anzelc got in for House 3A. He was in the middle of Prairie Island I, and at the Progressive DFL Caucus a while back we went toe to toe in a delightfully heated exchange, until he figured out I know the score on that 1994 bill, well, I had to hit him over the head with that. I trust he’ll do well in the SOB because he has the backbone to stand up for regular people.

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Further south, in Chisago, Jeremy Kalin beat Pete Nelson in House 17B. Jeremy is a progressive community activist who was part of Concerned River Valley Citizens on the Chisago Transmission Line, and he’s probably the first potter in the legislature!

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David Bly won by 57 votes, and from the inbox, “SERIOUSLY!!! Bly won!” and “How did that happen?” and “I didn’t see that one coming…” And Doug Jones’ reaction would be choice! Ray lost a LOT of votes in Northfield, and Bly didn’t lose as many (but didn’t do as well as Peterson), and a strange thing happened in Northfield W-2 P-2. Here’s Bly and Edwards in 2004:
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Here at home, Sandy Wollschlager took 28A, an open seat vacated by Republican Jerry Dempsey. I got several mailboxes full of HRCC Independent Expenditure flyesr, like the flip-flop flyer, another mispreresenting her service on the School Board, and Iocco has the nerve to claim SHE was running a negative campaign — show me the evidence Gary, because the floor of my porch is littered with HRCC crap and nothing like that from the DFL! Here she is election night, on the phone with the Republican… errr… Beagle, yeah, that’s it… learning that Gary Iocco had conceded (and not all that long after we’d been confident enough for the first toast to the winner and the first bottle of champagne blew open!).

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Further south in House 31B, Ken Tschumper,a LeCrescent dairy farmer, gave Greg Davids a long overdue Tschumping! Here he is with his father and his favorite cow:

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Here’s another winner that night, Jim Carlson of SD 38, who ran hard and benefitted from Andrew Borene’s crash and burn in SD41 and withdrew in disgrace (and the DFL sends out sample ballots with Borene’s name? Whatever were they thinking?) because Jim inherited Borene’s campaign worker and Senate support. Not long ago, he’d invited me to speak at a powerlunchbunch in St. Paul about energy issues and of course the Red Wing background checks, where Pat hollered “Senator Carlson!” and Jim was oblivious — get used to it SENATOR CARLSON!

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Lots of wins, a change in direction is assured.. but… Hatch’s loss is going to hurt a long time. Kenya is still whining, and Krie is on the lookout for Republican Whores!

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