Who will run now?

Well, the cat's outta the bag: Senator Dayton will not run for re-election. From the whispers at the Capitol, this was rather unexpected. All day people have been going up to each other saying, "Did you hear? Did you hear?"

Right now, I think people are trying to make sense of what is going to happen. Personally, I have mixed feelings. I thought Dayton was a decent Senator in terms of his politics. He could definitely use some help in the PR side of things, but his recent low approval ratings were nothing to be afraid of, especially since Senator Coleman also has low ratings. With some work, he could have gone to the citizens of Minnesota in a more effective manner and brought those approval ratings up. He still would have been vulnerable, but I think he could have won even against Mark Kennedy. Lame-duck Bush is not acting as if he cares about helping Republicans win in 2006. Congressional Republicans who go along with the president are going to have several albatrosses around their neck: Social Security privatization that nobody wants, cuts to farm subsidies in his budget, a guest-worker program, a ballooning deficit, and the exploding costs of the Medicare prescription drug plan. Besides, incumbency has its advantages no matter who it is.

So now who will run? The DFL doesn't have very many up-and-coming candidates with statewide recognition. The highest officer holder in the state who is a Democrat is Mike Hatch, and he could possibly run, although he has his eye on the governor's mansion. From there, the field is pretty thin. Senate Majority Leader Dean Johnson has been mentioned as a possibility, but I don't think he's thought much about it. Representative Betty McCollum is apparently interested, but I don't think she is well known. Ditto for Senator Steve Kelley of Hopkins. The Star Tribune mentions Bill Luther, but the loser image will be hard to shake. The DFL needs some fresh blood, not reruns.

The next year or so is going to be much more interesting than it was already shaping up to be. Everybody is up for re-election in 2006, and a wide-open Senate race is just the cherry on top.