At the end:
[Republican political consultant and former legislator Mike] Osskopp also said the Republican field is far from inspiring at this point. He said many of the top-tier candidates looked at the time demands, the travel and the low approval rating of Congress and decided against it.
"It's unfortunate that being a member of Congress has just lost its luster," he said. "It's no longer something that quality people aspire to."
Former state Sen. Ted Daley, former state Rep. Pam Myrha, state Rep. Tony Albright and Savage-based businessman Chris Andryski are other Republicans thinking about jumping into the race.
Would the field become "inspiring" if those, or any one of them, in the final paragraph were to declare?
The Kline legacy. Nobody to speak of, in his party, wants to follow that act.
__________UPDATE (edited)_________
To be clear, Gerson IS a Republican, and has been one over the years, having contested against Kline in caucusing battles of the past. The MPR item seems dismissive of him because he is not a mainstream business Republican. But then Gerson also appears to not be a tool of bogus "colleges" either, which would be a refreshing thing for CD2 GOP affairs.
Where is this Property Ownership, Howe Properties, LLC new entrant on the question of bogus post-secondary schools and a blind eye to their student-debt fraud aspects, a singular Kline legacy; will he be more of the same or defining a new and better view on that issue, not unlike Gerson that way?
__________FURTHER UPDATE____________
At a guess, Howe, if getting the GOP endorsement and if winning the general election, would not be a Kline clone. An upgrade instead, (could there really be worse), although clearly party-grade on many litmus tests.
Links of interest: litmus, here, here and two online pdf items, here and here. He has a Wikipedia page, and a LinkedIn page. The LinkedIn page identifies current connection with "NCEL" and attempted google-based disambiguation of that acronym suggests it is most likely this.
The litmus page MPR offers is not encouraging of Howe being a breakthrough Republican of a new sort, but he's not John Kline either. Whether he is a coal-fired power company advocate or not is unclear, on cursory investigation. He might be
But he was concerned about frac sand mining back when NoDak oil was in its boom phase, before the per barrel price erosion. Reader help on fleshing out the candidacy would be appreciated.
___________FURTHER UPDATE (edited)___________
Howe's brother, Jeff, is in the legislature, currently, from a different part of the State. Both brothers attended St. Cloud State, and Jeff has a military background, per MPR reporting. Jeff Howe's Wikipedia page is brief and not too informative. If there is a family stance on war and military size and spending, touching the Iran question, it needs fleshing out. Those are quite legitimate questions for anyone wanting to take a handoff from Col. Kline. Whether Gerson and Howe distinguish different positions on such interventionist questions might prove interesting. TPP and trade in general is also an area where Gerson might be an expected big-government opponent, and where Howe, as an apparent business Republican, would have to define a position. Bill sponsorship in the legislature suggests Howe might be an improvement over Kline's outlook on consumer/business credit fairness issues.
___________FURTHER UPDATE__________
BIG TIME QUESTION: The Howe-NCEL tie should be a focus of attention. The NCEL "Who We Are" page seems unduly vague on whether they are a pro-coal climate change denial front operation, or something better and fair toward renewable energy current and future options. And that very vagueness suggests cause for great caution about who they are and what they might stand for. If a Koch front, or the substantial equivalent, the Howe candidacy might look different than if NCEL is a more balanced or even innovative association. Reader help on that question would be appreciated.
Equally vague, this NCEL page, where specificity might be expected. Great River Energy is on the NCEL board, "Rick Lancaster, Vice President - Generation, Great River Energy," and they have massive coal-fired NoDak genco plants. Very suspect, unless proven innocent.
Environmentalist readers, please help out. Per NCEL: Koch fingerprints; coal fingerprints; all over or in part; or mainly agnostic about coal vs other genco options?
Howe did sponsor this bill, one arguably an impediment to wind energy development.
Howe has to honestly and thoroughly define where he is on climate change and clean energy issues, for credibility.
___________IMPORTANT UPDATE____________
Here is a big time problem. The John Howe candidacy makes the LinkedIn page important.
Enlarge the image see that NCEL bit. WTF is it? Why in the world would a seasoned politician not give a name instead of an ambiguous acronym?
Not being a LinkedIn user, I cannot access the "Full Profile." People like that do exist and might want to know more from the opening public-access page, John.
I need help and tried through the still online election page
http://howeforsenate.com/contact.php
to get a clarification (not finding the courtesy of a current email address there or elsewhere) but with script blocking I hope the try got through and somebody sees it
----------------------
BOTTOM LINE: Which NCEL did the gentleman affiliate himself with?
https://www.ncel.org/page.aspx
http://www.ncel.net/index.cgim
Dear John: There is a difference.
*.com or *.net
That LinkedIn ambiguity is giving me a KING-SIZED HEADACHE where an ounce of greater care on the LinkedIn page - giving a full organizational name, would have helped.
WHICH IS HE? *.com or *.org
LOOKING HERE, IF JOHN HOWE IS "WHITE HAT" THAT WAY THEN BLESS HIM. IT MATTERS. ANY READER HELP WOULD BE APPRECIATED.
____________FURTHER UPDATE___________
Making me believe the "white hat" might apply, not pro-coal (if that is NCEL.com positioning), this from a project vote smart page:
That reads more "white hat" than "coal black" but it is still wait and see.