T.W. Budig
ECM Capitol Reporter

Republican District 52 State Sen. Michele Bachmann handily won the Sixth District congressional race ó a contest defined by a rash of negative ads ó defeating Democrat and child safety activist Patty Wetterling.

Independence Party candidate John Binkowski finished a distant third.

ìWe had a fabulous story to tell the voters of the Sixth District,î Bachmann said, speaking to gathered Republicans in Bloomington after securing the victory.

Bachmann will go to Washington to join a diminished Republican congressional caucus, Democrats taking over the U.S. House.

While Bachmann held the Sixth District seat for the Republicans, the state caucus fell by one as DFL challenger Tim Walz knocked off six-term Republican Congressman Gil Gutknecht in the First District.

Wetterling 2 for 2

For Wetterling, the Sixth District loss was her second ó she unsuccessfully challenged Sixth District Congressman Mark Kennedy two years ago.

But Wetterling was upbeat while appearing at the Red Carpet Event Center in St. Cloud late in the evening on Nov 7.

ìBecause we did stand up for what we believed in, every one of us won,î Wetterling said.

ìWe did. And we will continue. I will carry all of you forward with me,î she said.

A former school teacher, Wetterling, of St. Joseph, was thrust into a public life in October of 1989 when her son Jacob was abducted. The abduction has never been solved.

Bachmann shines

Bachmann, 50, of Stillwater, was first elected to the Minnesota Senate in 2000.

Although best known as the author of a proposed constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage, early in her Senate career she was an outspoken critic of the Profile of Learning.

Politically, Bachmann and the marriage ban amendment have loomed largely in the partisan infighting at the Capitol during recent sessions, committee hearings becoming poker chips in negotiations between the Republican House and DFL Senate.

Battles over the proposed amendment drew thousands of supporters and opponents to St. Paul.

After praying along with her husband Marcus for several days, Bachmann decided to run for Congress in the Republican-leaning 6th District.

She readily bested a cadre of fiscal conservative challengers, including Rep. Phil Krinkie, R-Lino Lakes, to miss a first ballot party endorsement by just a dozen votes.

As a candidate, Bachmann argued the need for more asphalt ó more highway lanes ó in the district and gave qualified support for the Northstar Commuter Rail Line.

Bachmann believes the Iraqi people are better off today than under Saddam Hussein and that itís unreasonable to establish a timeline for withdrawing U.S. troops from Iraq as no one can peer into the future.

Bachmann has stressed the unconventionality of the war on terror, speaking often of the need for discovering terrorist sleeper cells

Bachmann and her husband have five children and brought 23 foster children in their home.

Critics have portrayed Bachmann as a political extremist, but she handily won her two previous elections.

Ventura Transportation Commissioner El Tinklenberg, whom Wetterling defeated for congressional endorsement, said last spring he was worried Democrats would underestimate Bachmann.

Bachmannís smart, a hard worker, and a great campaigner, warned Tinklenberg.

With all 313 precincts in the Sixth Congressional District reported, Bachmann cornered 50 percent of the tally, with 151,248 votes.

Wetterling received 42 percent, or 127,144 votes. Binkowski was at 7.7 percent of the total with 23,457 votes.

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