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Democrats exiting the sinking ship?--Part 19

By: Michael Barone, Senior Political Analyst, 02/03/10 4:46 PM EST

Republican Eric Paulsen beat the odds in 2008, winning 48%-41% in the suburban Minneapolis 3rd congressional district while Barack Obama was carrying it 52%-46%. Once upon a time the 3rd was Minnesota’s most Republican district, but since the late 1990s it has been trending Democratic, thanks to the liberal cultural attitudes of its upscale affluent voters. Looking ahead from the 2008 election, it looked like a tempting target for Democrats, even though 2008 nominee Ashwin Media fell short. But now comes the news that state Senator Terri Bonoff, who narrowly lost to Media at the DFL nominating convention, won’t run this year. She said she was “interested in the congressional opportunity,” but decided to wait until 2012, when redistricting takes place.

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The two Democrats remaining in the race have each raised less than $50,000 this cycle, though one contributed $103,000 to her campaign.Full article.