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Friday, February 24, 2012

Abiding faith - in the party endorsement process - Republican flavor, New SD31. Michelle Benson is on record, "It is with my strength as a campaigner and my record of service in the legislature that I seek the endorsement for the senate for District 31. In the course of re-districting, my colleague Senator Jungbauer and I were paired in District 31. We have a respectful working relationship and I expect this campaign to be respectful as well. I will focus on my strengths as I reach out to delegates [...] I will earn their endorsement. Out of respect for the endorsing process, I will abide by the endorsement [...]"

RESPECT -- Not a big word nor a difficult concept, and a promising promise, in beginning an intra-party endorsement contest.

Sen. Benson certainly favors the word "respect," by repeated usage. Hat tip to Andy at Residual Forces, for publishing Benson's letter of abiding faith in the endorsement process.

Read the entire letter there - the headline only excerpts a brief part.

Expressing a hope for positive campaigning reciprocity is also sound campaigning at the time Benson is promising to accentuate her own positive aspects. She is familiar with her situation. She claims she ran a positive campaign in winning her last election.

...........................

I no longer face having Michael Jungbauer representing me in the Minnesota Senate, a fact of redistricting:



The MPR interactive map, for a generic "Ramsey 55303" address shows I no longer am lumped into a district reaching into East Bethel - Jungbauer's home town, and ABC Newspapers reports this new SD 35 including Ramsey has no incumbent Senator (Abeler continuing in new HD 35A - Hackbarth moving from HD 48A to 31B).

I am presuming (readers please email or post a comment if wrong) that a new HD 35B is created which, unlike Ableler's 35A situation, has no incumbent.

For those wanting to explore the interactive map in higher resolution or lower, and to move the maps in parallel to explore changed boundaries; or those wanting to do the same for the new SD 31 pairing the two Republicans, Benson and Jungbauer; the link for the interactive map is here.

Wikipedia reports, "Benson [ a CPA] graduated from St. Catherine University in Saint Paul, receiving her B.A. in Chemistry. She later attended the University of St. Thomas, earning her M.B.A. She worked as an auditor and consultant at Deloitte & Touche, and currently works as the executive director of the Upper Midwest Security Alliance." (The last link was not in the Wikipedia entry but was added, see also here, and this generic web search.)

Jungbauer's academic credentials have been reported; and I am informed that roughly as of last summer he no longer works for Landform, having his own consultancy, Infinite Hydrologic Solutions, Inc., registered with the Secretary of State as officed in Excelsior Minnesota ( as reported previously in Crabgrass).

Aside from the Residual Forces blog's publishing the Benson letter, the Benson-Jungbauer situation in the new SD 31 has been reported here (the ABC report linked earlier, where abiding by the endorsement process was not part of reporting), and as part of a larger picture, here (indicating Jungbauer was remaining equivocal about a primary contest, while discounting it as a likelihood but declining to state a Sherman statement definiteness); this being MPR reporting:

Jungbauer initially said on The Late Debate radio that he would run in a primary if he didn't win the endorsement. But he backed off of those comments on Thursday.

"There is no way on this earth that I will walk out of a normal, fair endorsement convention where somebody says to me 'Jungbauer, you're not our guy' and I would go ahead."

[italics added]

Benson's legislative page including contact info is here. Jungbauer's here.

Additional info on Benson, here, here, and here. I believe it is fair to say that Benson is younger and less well known than Jungbauer, for whom readers can find comparable Project VoteSmart links. The Benson letter published on the Residual Forces blog gives a contact phone number: 763-443-5690

_____________UPDATE____________
Eric Hagen of ABC Newspapers reports on a GOP resolution of another redistricting outcome - two GOP house Reps. put into a single new HD 35B. They worked it out, one running for HD 35B, the other running for SD 35. It is unlike the Benson-Jungbauer battle of the Senators. For those not wanting to check the MPR map; HD 35B is the other half of the SD 35 including Ramsey; the Andover half, again with Abeler in the Ramsey half, since he's in the corner of Anoka that was included in SD 35.

____________FURTHER UPDATE____________
The most complete catalog listing of incumbents pitted against one another I have seen is here. Living in Ramsey, my focus has been upon the new Senate District without an incumbent, and the Jungbauer situation as being of interest for those who have faced having him as their Minneosta State Senator presently and in the past.

Readers are asked to post a comment on who the GOP may run in SD 31. Previously the DFL candidates opposing Jungbauer were Mike Starr and Peter Perovich. Perovich lives in Ramsey, in the new SD 31, while I am uncertain whether Starr's residence is in the new SD 31, or in SD 35. Reader help on that, via an email or comment would be appreciated. I know of at least one obviously ambitious young Republican in Ramsey who might think to run, but I have no idea of what base of support he might have if deciding to again seek office.

We will wait and see.