Cliff Buchan
News Editor

If Mark Kennedy has a favorite Republican candidate to run for his seat in the U.S. Congress, heís not telling.

A coy Kennedy steered clear of any kind of endorsement during a meeting Jan. 11 with members of the ECM Publishers Editorial Board in Coon Rapids.

Kennedy will be the Republican candidate for U.S. Senate this fall in a bid to replace Sen. Mark Dayton who is leaving Washington after serving one six-year term.

Four leading contenders have come forward and will seek the Republican endorsement to run in the Sixth Congressional District that wraps around the eastern, northern and western suburbs of the metro area and also reaches St. Cloud.

Republicans slated to contest for the nomination are: Sen. Michele Bachmann of Stillwater, Rep. Phil Krinke of Lino Lakes, Rep. Jim Knoblach of St. Cloud and Jay Esmay.

The winner from among the four is expected to run against former state highway department commissioner Elwyn Tinklenberg.

In the interview last week, Kennedy said it was best to let the endorsement policy carry out and he declined to identify his favorite choice for the election bid.

Regarding his Senate race, Kennedy said this race is expected to be one of the most high profile contests in the country. And with that will come outside funding, Kennedy said, adding that he will continue to campaign much as he has in the past in his contests for the House of Representatives.

ìIím one of those crazy guys who actually loves to go to parades,î he said.

He would not speculate on the amount of dollars that would be spent in the Senate campaign.

He could end up running against either Ford Bell, Patty Wetterling or Amy Klobuchar who are the leading contenders for the DFL endorsement.

Lobby scandal

Kennedy said he is upset by the Congressional scandal that has unfolded this fall and winter with lobbyist Jack Abramoff at the center of the alleged bribe controversy.

Kennedy told the editorial board that he favored a system that would prohibit or further restrict former congressmen from working as a lobbyist. Under current rules, a congressman is required to wait only one year after leaving office before he or she is allowed to start work as a lobbyist.

Kennedy recently donated $1000 to charity, thus giving back a campaign donation that he received through one of the tribes represented by Abramoff. He said last week he has never met Abramoff in person.

ìIím disappointed by some of the things Iíve heard,î he said. He agrees with the sentiment shared by many Americans and knows what his mother would say regarding the scandal.

ìMy mom would say get the broom out,î Kennedy said.

Other comments

In other topics last week, Kennedy said he would:

ïContinue to work on anti-terrorism measures but called for improvements to the Homeland Defense Department and an end to any pork barrel funding proposals that are sneaking into appropriations acts.

ïNot support any timetable for withdrawing U.S. troops from Iraq until Iraqi troops are capable of protecting their country.

ïMake every effort possible in Congress this year to add $40 million a year over 10 years to support the Migratory Bird Trust Fund with the goal of improving duck breeding habitat in the prairie pothole regions of the Upper Midwest, including Minnesota. Funding for the clean water bill would come through an increase in the federal duck stamp fee from $15 to $25 in 2007 and a second increase in 2015. Kennedy is lead author on the bill that has bipartisan support.

ïPush for more methamphetamine controls that would put the drug on an equal footing with heroin and include efforts to curb the flow of meth from countries like Mexico where an estimated three-fourths of the drug supply in the United States is thought to originate.

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