If national Democrats could have picked any district to open up as a result of a Republican retirement, the suburban Minneapolis 3 rd District would have neared the top of their wish list. On Tuesday, they got their wish when nine-term moderate GOP Rep. Jim Ramstad announced he would retire from Congress at the conclusion of his ninth term, citing Washington burnout. The popular Ramstad had won reelection by wide margins throughout his tenure, and not until this year had Democrats pondered mounting a serious challenge against him.
Ramstad's exit sets the stage for a wide open race in this high-income suburban district, centered on outer Hennepin County cities such as Edina, Minnetonka, and Eden Prairie. Since his election in 1990, Ramstad's margins of victory (he never received less than 64 percent of the vote) have belied the marginal nature of the district, which voted narrowly for the GOP at the presidential level in both 2000 and 2004. At a PVI of R+1, only 18 Republicans in Congress represent districts with stronger Democratic tendencies than Minnesota's 3 rd . There
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