Former Congressman Rick Nolan makes it official today by announcing his DFL bid for the seat currently held by U.S. Rep. Chip Cravaack (R-MN8). Nolan is touring the district today, though he’s been seen at local DFL events for months.
Nolan joins Duluth city council member Jeff Anderson and former St. Cloud area State Sen. Tarryl Clark in what seems to be the likely DFL field in this competitive race. The district was previously represented for 36 years by former Rep. Jim Oberstar, an Iron Ranger and national transportation policy expert who lost to Cravaack in a 2010 stunner. More candidates could enter but they are not making themselves known at this time.
I spent a lot of nice June days writing an in-depth series on MN-8, which you can now read in its entirety. When the field seems final I’ll schedule formal recorded interviews with all the candidates, including Cravaack.
Campaign Websites:
Rick Nolan
Jeff Anderson
Tarryl Clark
Chip Cravaack
Another reason to consider Nolan a favorite is that he is relatively old so those DFLers who might have later aspirations for the seat have an incentive to support Nolan as he won’t occupy the seat nearly as long as his competitors might.