CD-6 candidates

Like ripples spreading out on a lake from a dropped stone, the withdrawal of Mark Dayton is having an impact on offices beyond the Senate. Mark Kennedy's district is now empty, and people are jumping into that fray as well. Crazy State Senator Michelle Bachmann is running, as everybody already knew, but so is State Representative Jim Knoblach, a Republican from Saint Cloud.

Although I know the area that he represents fairly well, having lived there for a time, there really isn't much that is extraordinary about Knoblach. He is your typical conservative Republican, not quite as right-wing as many members of his caucus, but definitely no moderate. He has been chair of a couple of powerful committees recently, such as Capital Investment and now Ways and Means, which means he does get some power and airtime. What I find to be most telling about his character is how he voted against funding for the Northstar commuter rail line, even though the endpoint is Saint Cloud and his district would greatly benefit. He is, after all, willing to take orders from above even when it conflicts with his district.

If he were elected to Congress, he would presumably have to vote on federal transportation projects, such as Northstar. I wonder if he would vote the right way then, or if he would roll over and do what DeLay et al want.