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Democrats in Minnesota's 6th Congressional
District put their chips on state Sen. Tarryl Clark on Saturday,
betting that a rising state lawmaker will have what it takes to
beat conservative icon Michelle Bachmann.


      Clark won the party endorsement at a union hall in Blaine,
easily besting Dr. Maureen Reed, a former Independence Party
candidate for lieutenant governor. Clark and Reed will face each
other again in an August primary.


      "We want to send Michele Bachmann to the career which she seems
to be destined for - a career on Fox News," Clark told convention
attendees.


      Democrats face a tough slog against Bachmann, a star of
conservative protests in Washington and frequent guest on TV talk
shows. 


The 6th District is Minnesota's most conservative, wrapping
around the northern half of the Twin Cities and stretching west
past St. Cloud. Bachmann, a Republican seeking a third term, has
bedeviled 6th District Democrats since she first ran and won in
2006.


      "We will be no longer embarrassed in our state by someone who
makes a mockery of serious public debate," said Buzz Snyder, a
party activist who introduced Clark.


      Clark and Reed each claimed to have a better shot at unseating
Bachmann.


      Reed, a former health care executive and University of Minnesota
regent, said she can appeal to swing voters as a political
outsider. Clark said that approach has been tried before by
Democrats who have lost.


      Bachmann beat child safety advocate Patty Wetterling in 2006 and
former state transportation commissioner Elwyn Tinklenberg in 2008.


      Clark, an attorney, said she would lean on the Democratic
apparatus to build support among voters. She is serving her second
term in the state Senate, where she is an assistant majority
leader.


      A former lobbyist for nonprofit groups, Clark represents a St.
Cloud district that supported Democrat Barack Obama two years ago.
Republicans already are making an issue of her voting record,
particularly on taxes.


      Clark said she hopes Reed will reconsider her decision to run in
the primary.  Reed wasn't biting.


      "On to the primary," Reed said. "We know that primary voters
are a very different group of people than the people who attend the
endorsement process."


      The 6th District covers all or most of Anoka, Benton, Sherburne,
Stearns, Washington and Wright counties.

Gallery

State Sen. Clark kicks off campaign to unseat Rep. Bachmann

Reed kicks off campaign to unseat Bachmann

6th CD DFLers Clark and Reed face off on Midday

Crime, Law and Justice

The Jacob Wetterling abduction

Martiga Lohn

Author

Democrats in Minnesota's 6th District endorsed State Sen. Tarryl Clark Saturday to run against incumbent Republican Michele Bachmann in the November election.

6th District Dems endorse Clark to run against Bachmann

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