Hopefully any descent to redness the district may be experiencing will be swamped by the blue waveā¦
That seems to be Kondikās point. If the Dem generic advantages holds or extends, itāll actually be a good year for Democratic incumbents in swing districts to pass the baton, just as itāll be inverse for Republicans in swing districts to retire.
I guess he is tired of the relentless attacks by the Stuart Mills connected Koch Industries PACs that poured MILLIONS into this election in the last 2 cycles.
If you donāt know, Stuart Mills is the epitome of Republicans now; a very Wealthy Rich-Boy/Idiot who sees āPolitics as the last refuge of scoundrelsā as a good thing. He sold his interest in the Mills Fleet & Farm business his dad built to finance his āvanity runsā against Rick Nolan (who, despite what anyone says is quite vulnerable to a Far-Reich-Winger like Mills who lies his ass off with no compunction, as that plays well in the Iron Range lately.) Nolan BARELY squeaked out a victory in 2016 and seems just tired of the whole thing (not that I blame him.)
Iām sure the Koch PACs are jumping with joy with this news, finally they think, the 3rd time will be a charm for their āuseful idiotā, Stuart Mills III who is SURE to run again as he has nothing else to do.
Now that rich young dude with the long hair who always challenges him will get in. Yuck.
He cut his hair last time and donned a flannel shirt and (pressed) blue-jeans and (clean) work-boots to try to look āNorthernā to the Iron Range folks.
It didnāt work (barely) but with unlimited Koch PAC money behind him (and his own fortune) he just might pull it off in 2018.
I really doubt the conclusion that any Minnesota district is in danger of flipping Republican. Very simply, there will be more and more Dems going to the polls and more Independents leaning away from the GOP. We need to keep reminding ourselves that Trump was elected by only about 26% of our eligible voters.
WOW! Nobody saw that coming! He did have one announced primary challenger, so itās not like all is lost at this point.
More information here: Nolan Faces DFL Challenger
And here: Leah Phifer for Congress
Nolan is my Congressman. About 75% of the voters in my county went for Trump. Stewart Mills Jr. will most likely run again and win without Nolan in the picture. He narrowly lost to Nolan twice.
Hope the Democrats can come up with a great candidate or else this millionaire horseās ass will be my Congressman.
So whatās your impression of Leah Phifer? Will she carry the bright torch to fight the good fight for all the right reasons? If she seems to be a good and worthwhile candidate and a good replacement for Nolan, more power to her. Iām sure Nolan has his valid reasons for choosing to step down. Dems should choose wisely in '18.
Youāre not from around the way, are you? There is plenty of Red here in Minnesota, home to the infamous Michele Bachmann. The 8th was represented by Democrat Jim Oberstar for 36 years until he lost to the no-name Chip Cravaak in the 2010 Tea Party Tsunami, whom Nolan defeated in 2012. All of outstate Minnesota is now pretty solidly Red in the state Legislatureā¦
At least one congressman /woman realizing his āuse by dateā If ever a Congress needed younger blood it is this one. Doddering octogenarians arenāt the solution to the problems of these times. I am an octogenarian myself and they arenāt in that better shape than I and I labored for a living for 69 years. It has to be āself importanceā or perceived power" that makes them hang on. Easy money must enter also why they hang on by their fingernails. 
I honestly donāt know that much about her, having just heard about her the day before the caucuses. I also live in the 2nd, so I donāt technically have a dog in this fight. That said, she certainly checks all of the right boxes for this district. She grew up on the Iron Range, a lot of her family worked in the mines, sheās worked for the FBI in a counterterrorism role, so she canāt realistically be branded soft on terrorism, sheās worked as an ICE agent, so she canāt realistically be branded as soft on immigration, while also supporting a very progressive set of policies that focus on making peopleās everyday lives better. But this is her first run for office, so a lot remains to be seenā¦
That doddering septagenarian saved the district from a young, teabagging whippersnapper. Nolan, despite his support for the Keystone XL pipeline and dangerous copper-nickel mining, was generally one of the good guysā¦
An opportunity for progressives to get a candidate nominated.
Oberstar was pro life and against gun control. In spite of that, he had a very liberal voting record. He was very strong on the environment and labor. He came to my doorstep at least once while campaigning. When the Bush tax cuts were being legislated, I wrote to Oberstar voicing my concern about them passing and adding to our debt. I received the longest and most detailed email from him that I have ever received from a politician since.Two fucking pages long! I printed it out and showed it to many people. The time and thought he put into answering my concerns was pretty impressive.
ETA: I think I mustāve been one of the few who agreed with him that Bushās tax cuts were bad.
And the Russian Intelligence Services acting in concert with the Trump Campaign and the Dixiecrat Republicans who were holding on to The Dead Scalia SCOTUS seat as part of the conspiracy.
I think you missed my point ā¦ the Red is strong in MN, but itāsnot going to surge like the opposition in the mid-terms. Overall, the Republicans are going to lose, and Mills could easily go down as part of that.
Even if the Dems lose this district, thereās 2 other swing districts held by Republicans in MN that we can pick off.
Just like parts of Texas. Trump has been polling underwater here statewide for some time now and we have Democrats running in every single race. No GOP is running unopposed this time and weāre poised to flip this bitch.