Posted: 5/1/02

District 52 race could decide Senate majority

T.W. Budig
ECM capitol reporter

One of the premiere legislative races this election will unfold in the northeast metro between two incumbent lawmakers vying for votes on a redrawn field.

Paired in District 52 by court-ordered redistricting, Sen. Jane Krentz, DFL-May Township, and Sen. Michele Bachmann, R-Stillwater, are politically divergent ó the fuzziness that sometimes blurs the stances between candidates is absent on fundamental issues in this race.

Bachmann, for example, views rail transit as a poor investment needing constant infusions of operational funding; Krentz is the author of Northstar Commuter Rail legislation in the Senate.

Bachmann views the Profile of Learning as injurious to local schools ó another example of the state ìmucking upî education; Krentz does not want the Profile abandoned, rather mended.

Bachmann wants local school districts weaned from state funding, arguing local property taxes are a more stable form of school funding.

Krentz sees a need for more state school investment, saying she believes the property tax tends to be regressive and points to the state constitution as the rational for state involvement in education.

Other differences

Other fundamental distinctions exist.

First elected in 1992, Krentz won a series of close elections ó polling about 53 percent ó to advance in the Senate to chair the Environment and Natural Resources Committee.

Krentz is a teacher by profession. She lives in May Township and has three children.

A first-termer, Bachmann bested Sen. Gary Laidig, R-Stillwater, in the 2000 primary to emerge from Republican infighting to a general election win with 52 percent of the vote.

Aggressive in debate, Bachmann serves on capital investment, education, and other Senate committees. A tax attorney by profession, Bachmann and her husband Marcus have five children and many foster children.

Both candidates believe their values are in stride with the districtís. Bachmann, saying she hears from voters that Krentzís voting record is ultra liberal, seems to give the reports some credence.

ìI would say my (political) positions are not ultra liberal. Iím a conservative,î Bachmann said.

Krentz said she does not in any way discredit Bachmannís sincerity or the right to her opinions. ìBut quite frankly, I donít want her speaking for me on the Senate floor,î Krentz said.

Krentz styles herself a political moderate.

Redistricting

The court crafted a district in District 52 thatís notably different than the old districts of both lawmakers.

Neither Bachmann nor Krentz before represented the two northeast Anoka County townships ó Linwood and Columbus ó incorporated into the district.

Krentz considers the two townships Republican. But a case can be made the entire district has a Republican tilt.

In the 2000 presidential race, President Bush won every city and township in District 52 with the exceptions of Mahtomedi and Stillwater.

About a quarter of Stillwaterís 15,600 population lives in District 52, according to city officials.

A rough estimate is Bush carried District 52 by about 2000 votes.

While this may not be encouraging to DFLers, pundits point out the severing of the city of Blaine from Krentzís old district as a key element to the outcome of the race in District 52.

ìKrentz hasnít a power base anymore,î said Bill Walsh, spokesman with the Republican Party of Minnesota.

It was DFL votes in Blaine that pulled her through earlier elections, Walsh explained.

Indeed, Vice-President Gore took Blaine in 2000 by 724 votes.

But Bill Amberg, director of communications and research for the Minnesota DFL Party, believes the importance of the loss of Blaine has been oversold.

He cites the votes tallied by presidential candidate Ralph Nader in 2000 in District 52 as offsetting the alleged Republican advantage ó as proof the district is open.

Nader polled 838 votes in the district, excluding Stillwater where the Green Party presidential candidates polled 500 votes.

ìIím not saying Senator Krentz will win by a landslide, but I certainly think sheíll win,î he said.

For her part, Krentz downplays the loss of Blaine, saying the city political makeup was changing anyway.

ìIf I only get Democratic votes thereís no way I can win,î Krentz said. ìI have to have broader appeal,î she said.

Plainly she has in the past, Krentz said, because sheís still in office.

But redistricting has brought challenges for Bachmann, too.

She has not represented the bulk of the households in District 52. And as a first-term lawmaker, a member of the minority caucus in the Senate, Bachmannís legislative record more reflects votes cast than bills passed.

Both party officials view the candidate opposing their candidate as extreme.

Bachmann belongs to the Allen Quist faction of the Republican Party ó as conservative a senator found in the Senate, Amberg said.

But Walsh called Bachmann a superb candidate, possessing everything voters could want in a candidate. Krentz is a liberal whose values donít match the districtís, Walsh said.

One to watch

Could the outcome of the race in District 52 indicate larger transitional changes?

Senate Minority Leader Dick Day, R-Owatonna, said he hopes a Bachmann win will be part of a Republican takeover of the Senate.

Bachmann ìabsolutelyî has a chance to take the district, he said.

Assistant Senate Majority Leader John Hottinger, DFL-Mankato, said the attraction of the District 52 race is that the candidates are so different.

ìItís not Tweedledum and Tweedledee,î he said, praising Krentzís effectiveness as a senator and terming her a moderate.

Meanwhile the campaign continues. Both Krentz and Bachmann say theyíre excited and energized by the match.

Sheís in the new part of District 52 almost every day, Bachmann said. ìI plan to be everywhere between now and November,î she said.

She has many ties to the district ó a recent endorsement convention in Forest Lake seemed like a family reunion, Bachmann said.

Krentz said through phone calls and e-mails people are stepping forward to volunteer for her campaign who never before worked on her behalf.

ìI get a lot of support from Republican people who feel I work hard and have common sense,î said Krentz of past elections.

According to Minnesota Green Party officials, there are currently no Green Party senatorial candidates in District 52. But one could step forward, they said.

Cities and townships in District 52 include: Forest Lake, New Scandia, Hugo, Columbus, Linwood, May, Grant, Stillwater, Lino Lakes, Centerville, Dellwood and Pine Springs.

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