Wintry mix spreads across Minnesota

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The disarray among House Republicans in Washington is becoming a campaign issue in Minnesota, where Democrats are warning voters in two key competitive districts that electing Republicans will create more gridlock.

The GOP is having have a difficult time choosing a successor to outgoing House Speaker John Boehner.

Many Republicans are now trying to convince Rep. Paul Ryan of Wisconsin to take the job. If he doesn't, it could fall to a caretaker. One possibility is reportedly Rep. John Kline, who announced in September that he's not running for his seat representing Minnesota's 2nd District again. Kline is backing Ryan, says spokesman Troy Young.

"Congressman Kline continues to encourage Paul Ryan to be the next speaker and that's where Congressman Kline's focus remains," he said.


Kline is not giving interviews on the speaker job. The two other Republican members of Minnesota's delegation, Erik Paulsen and Tom Emmer, also aren't talking about the leadership struggle. 


But Democrats are. DFL Party Chair Ken Martin says the disarray shows why voters should send Democrats to Washington.

Election 2016

"The leadership fight in Washington right now just serves to remind how dysfunctional Congress is and the fact that it's not working for anyone at this point," Martin said. "So the last thing we need is to send people who are ideologues to Washington."

Martin singles out two Republicans: Stewart Mills, who's running in the 8th District, and Jason Lewis, who is running in the 2nd.

Lewis, a former conservative radio talk show host, said the disagreement over the next speaker is only an issue inside political circles. And he sees no problem with Boehner's departure and the public squabbling over who should replace him.

"Sometimes you make a change in leadership. That is the essence of leadership. The absence of leadership is when you go along with a dysfunctional system," Lewis said.

Mills, who is challenging DFL Rep. Rick Nolan, is taking a more cautious approach.

"I'm not in Washington D.C., but eventually they're going to have to get things together," Mills said. "But when I'm in Washington D.C., I will make this promise to the voters of the 8th Congressional District, I will be a part of the function, not the dysfunction, of Washington D.C."

But Rep. Nolan said Mills would only add to the problems in Washington. He said Mills' decision to speak at a Tea Party event this week demonstrates that Mills would be unwilling to cooperate if he's elected. 

"They're at the heart of the people's frustration with the partisanship and the gridlock and the inability of Congress to tackle these major issues and get something done."

There's at least one Democrat who isn't celebrating as House Republicans' struggle. Rep. Keith Ellison is worried the House leadership fight and the constant criticism that government is broken only increases apathy.

"It may help Democrats in the short-term because everybody knows that that's completely dysfunctional, but it doesn't help America in the long term. I'd rather beat them on the ideas stage," Ellison said.

Speaker Boehner said his plan is for the House to elect a new speaker before the end of October. It's possible that he could stay on longer if Republicans can't agree on his successor.

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The DFL Party says electing Republicans in two key Minnesota districts will make Washington gridlock worse.

Minn. Democrats seek advantage in GOP House leadership struggles

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