“We couldn’t have said it better ourselves, Rep. Kline,” said Sacha Haworth of the DCCC. “All signs point to this Republican clown convoy headed for a bloody and costly primary. Bet somebody’s regretting retiring right about now.”
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
ICYMI: 2nd District GOP field doesn’t inspire confidence, Kline says
St. Paul Pioneer Press
By David Montgomery
February 8, 2016
Retiring U.S. Rep. John Kline is disappointed in and “concerned” about the fundraising of the field of Republicans running to succeed him in Minnesota’s 2nd Congressional District, the longtime Republican congressman said Monday.
Activist David Gerson, former lawmaker John Howe, former talk show host Jason Lewis, business owner Darlene Miller and former lawmaker Pam Myhra are all seeking the Republican nomination in the south suburban district, as is long-shot David Benson-Staebler. Kline hasn’t endorsed in the race, and said none of the candidates have yet proven they have what it takes to win.
Kline, who won the south suburban swing district seven times, said he was hoping former Minnesota first lady Mary Pawlenty would enter the race. When she said she wouldn’t run in September, she left behind a field that has not yet won Kline’s confidence.
“I’m a little bit concerned by the fundraising that was shown by the Republicans who were in for the January filing,” Kline said, referring to recently filed reports that showed none of the Republicans raising much more than $100,000 for a swing district.
Health care executive Angie Craig is the presumptive Democratic nominee after her two rivals for the party endorsement dropped out. Craig has raised more money than any of the Republican candidates and also loaned her campaign hundreds of thousands of dollars. On Monday she announced endorsements from Gov. Mark Dayton, Sen. Amy Klobuchar and Lt. Gov. Tina Smith.
Kline spoke most warmly of Miller, the latest entrant to the race. Her campaign is being run by a former Kline aide.
“The new arrival, Darlene Miller, brings a lot,” he said. “Clearly one of the things she needs to bring is the ability to raise money.”
Miller, due to her late entry to the race, wasn’t required to file a campaign finance report last month. Her first report will be filed in April, a few weeks before Republican activists meet to endorse a candidate in the race. Miller has said she won’t abide by that endorsement and will instead run in the August primary election.
Miller’s campaign manager George Damian, Kline’s former political director, said Miller understands the importance of fundraising.
“We’re hitting that hard and definitely looking to raise as much money as we can,” said Damian. He predicted Miller will raise more than the $100,000 that her best-performing rivals raised in their first quarter in the race, but didn’t say how much more.
Kline was measured describing Lewis, Howe and Myhra — but pointedly omitted Gerson when he said he “liked all these people.”
“We’ve got some history,” Kline said of Gerson, who challenged Kline twice and has continued to attack Kline in prepared statements throughout his campaign.
Though he’s neutral now, Kline said he was disappointed in the remaining Republican field, Kline said: “Yes, absolutely, because I wanted Mary Pawlenty.”
“I talked to her and talked to her,” Kline said of Pawlenty, the former first lady of Minnesota and at one time a state judge. “I actually thought she was going to get in. If she had gotten in, we wouldn’t be having this conversation. The others would not have gotten in, for the most part, and Mary would win in November.”
After considering the race, Pawlenty announced that she wanted to stay in her job as a mediator instead of running for Congress.
Kline said his top concern is that a Republican candidate wins the 2nd District, which is expected to be among the most competitive House races in the country. Though Kline always won handily, Democratic candidates running statewide have also won the majority of votes in the district in recent elections.
“We need to have a candidate who is consistent on conservative pro-growth principles and can win in November,” Kline said.
The ability to win was the key reason why Kline last week endorsed Florida Sen. Marco Rubio for president: He believes Rubio gives Republicans the best chance to win the presidency, and will also provide coattails to help Republicans win congressional elections.
“There are a lot of Republicans who look at Sen. Rubio like I do and say, if he’s our nominee, we’ll win. Not just the White House, but the Senate and the House as well,” Kline said. “If it’s someone else, we may not.”
Speaking specifically of the 2nd District, Kline predicted the eventual Republican candidate would triumph if Rubio was the Republican nominee — but not necessarily if Donald Trump or Ted Cruz wins.
“I think that it’s problematic for the 2nd District, for example, if Donald Trump is the Republican nominee,” Kline said. “Whereas if Marco Rubio is the nominee, we can retain the 2nd District.”