Sixth District Congressional race heats up early
Two DFL 6th Congressional District candidates, former state transportation commissioner Elwyn Tinklenberg and Dr. Maureen Reed, hope to capture the DFL and Independence district endorsements to take on Republican Congresswoman Michele Bachmann next year.
Tinklenberg lost to Bachmann last November, and suggested the outcome might have been different had Independence Party candidate Bob Anderson not gone double-digit in his vote total.
“Those are clearly not Bachmann voters,” said Tinklenberg, though adding that they were also uncomfortable voting for him.
His campaign has to change that, he explained.
Tinklenberg, who will formally announce his candidacy later this summer, explained that he fired up his campaign early because there are people nationally who want to see Bachmann removed from Congress and that he has become known as the alternative.
Tinklenberg opined that one of biggest problems his campaign had last time around was beginning the campaign with modest funding, which kept it slowed until later in the campaign when the dollars began to free up.
Tinklenberg, 59, opined that his endorsement rival, Reed, was pursing a heartfelt course in running for Congress and that he had no interest in trying to thwart her pursuit of a dream.
But Tinklenberg also expressed wonderment why a 6th District DFL delegate would want to back Reed when his candidacy had already achieved visibility and momentum.
Delegates would be “hard pressed,” he opined, to come up with ideas why supporting Reed would be a better choice.
For Reed, 56, a doctor of internal medicine, former university regent, longtime health care industry official, the moment is ripe for someone with her expertise to go to Washington where the issue of health care is at the forefront, Reed explained.
In general, there are relatively few members of Congress that come out of a health care back ground, she explained.
“It’s a very challenging race,” said Reed of throwing her hat into the Sixth District.
Reed, like Tinklenberg, speaks of the need of attracting independent voters.
A couple of lessons she learned as the runningmate of Independence Party gubernatorial candidate Peter Hutchinson in 2006 and also in framing her run for Congress was that people are terrified of losing their health care and that they believe government in general is unwilling or incapable of helping them, she explained.
That she finds very sad, Reed said.
Reed, who recently filed the paperwork for running for federal office, plans a formal announcement later this summer.
