This race has been in the Toss Up column since Democratic Sen. Mark Dayton announced early last year that he would retire, leaving the seat open and improving Democrats chances of holding it.
Dayton, who hated to raise money and could not self-fund another campaign, would have had a very difficult time holding the seat. His decision to shutter his Washington office in the fall of 2004 out of fear there would be a pre-election terrorist attack on the Capitol drew wide criticism and GOP Rep. Mark Kennedy was already gearing up to challenge him.
Democrats saw the prospect of an open seat as a blessing, yet were well aware that no open seat in a swing state like Minnesota would be a sure thing. They recruited Amy Klobuchar, the Hennepin (Minneapolis) County Attorney and ultimately cleared the field for her. Klobuchar has proven to be a strong candidate with solid fundraising skills. Without serious primary opposition, she has been able to spend much of the year traveling the state to consolidate the Democratic base. She also started airing
Subscribe Today
Our subscribers have first access to individual race pages for each House, Senate and Governors race, which will include race ratings (each race is rated on a seven-point scale) and a narrative analysis pertaining to that race.