John Howe enters 2CD Rep. race
September 22nd, 2015
Photo – Gretchen Hoffman, Capitol Chat
John Howe has announced he’s running for Congress in Minnesota’s 2nd Congressional District. It’s all over the web. I’d wager a fair amount that John Howe would win the election. The good news is that Drazkowski will not run, Dog help us if he did (though it would get him out of the MN House!). What I know about Howe is that as Mayor of Red Wing, and as our area state Senator, he stood up to Xcel Energy on its Prairie Island uprate and worked to get the full story out, and Xcel Energy did ask that the Certificate of Need be revoked/withdrawn after it was clear that there was no need for the uprate. Howe also returns phone calls, and he’ll stop for a chat at the Farmers Market.
He was working for a bipartisan legislative environmental lobbying/caucus org of some sort, so I hope that he’ll continue with that mindset. But given the MPR blurb below of Howe’s early campaign stop at a Red Wing Tea Party meeting, that gives me the willies, and I do hope he’s not taking that party line. He also says he’ll put in $500k of his own money toward the campaign. If he’s got that kind of money to throw around, and buys in to the “pay to play” notion, that’s a concern. He’s been a moderate, sane voice, and if he continues on in that vein, he’ll win. If not, if he goes off like Republican Presidential candidates these days, well, he’ll have trouble in this swing district.
We shall see…
Here’s the MPR article:
Howe enters race for Congress
And on Hubbard’s KSTP:
How’s this for an awkward headline from the Red Wing Republican bEagle:
Howe will attempt to win congressional seat
Winona Daily News:
Howe’s in, Drazkowski’s out in race for open Congress seat
In the STrib and STrib blog:
Former GOP state senator joins race to succeed Kline
Former state senator enters race for Rep. Kline’s seat, adding to smaller-than-expected field
In the StPPP and StPPP blog:
2nd Republican announces bid to replace Rep. John Kline
Howe runs for Second District as ‘conservative’ but ‘electable’
I think that last headline pretty much sums it up for CD2!