https://aroundthe8thin80days.com/
Candidate home page:
https://www.phiferforcongress.com/
In the news:
https://www.phiferforcongress.com/press/
That last link, top items today, both Duluth News Tribune LTEs; here and here.
Coverage, Isanti Chisago County Star.
Best for last, issues matter.
________________UPDATE_________________
Nolan has not stated any particular cause for stepping aside, but earlier reporting noted his daughter fighting lung cancer, the hope being that situation has not worsened.
MinnPost in October had a CD8 story but now the Nolan-Phifer contest they picked apart is moot.
Dan Burns at MPP adds a thought:
Of course Minnesota’s corporate media is putting their own tiresome spin on this; let them make fools of themselves yet again. With the way this cycle is shaping up, the DFL could run a wood tick and win. Thankfully, in reality we have a great candidate, Leah Phifer. As long as she doesn’t let corporate tools from the DCCC or wherever swoop in and screw everything up, it should handily be Rep. Phifer as of January 2019.
If the DCCC offers money, take the money, but if they offer along with it advice and consulting services, take only the money. If quid pro quo is the offer, take a hike saying "No, thanks." That's my free published advice to Ms. Phifer. It is the way toward gaining respect. Respect from progressives and other well-intentioned thinking people. DCCC is the organ of Ossoff misadventure.
_____________FURTHER UPDATE_____________
Sandman, Green Party, and Stauber, R, are so far the opposition. Stauber seems a mining industry tool. More evidence. That first link, previously published in a mining tool. More. Strib, here, Stauber:
The state’s politically powerful mining industry argues that the ban would cripple the nascent copper-nickel industry in Minnesota.
“These are the minerals that the good Lord put here so we can extract them,” said St. Louis County Commissioner Pete Stauber. It doesn’t have to be one or the other, mining or clean water, he said: “It’s time we work for a solution for one and the other.”
So, Stauber is defined by how he shot his mouth off. He is the candidate of "minerals the good Lord put here so we can extract them."
Did I say, mining tool? It's sort of like sexually transmitted diseases the good Lord put here so we could transmit them. His good Lord does his bidding seemingly, the STD Lord, well, he's the same one that at some point will aim a big asteroid at our planet, to mess it up more than mining does. But until then mining is the King of Earth Mess-up. Something like that.
If you want pure bullshit, try this:
On the topic of health care, he [Stauber] said, “We all know Obama Care was a disaster and Congress needs to work together to fix it. I favor state control over health care. You should be able to pick your own doctor and health care should be between you and your doctor. Republicans and Democrats need to work on a health care plan that will work for all Americans. The healthcare issue is too big, too complicated and too important to care about which side wins. Congress needs to work together to get it right.”
That's like a nobody-payer viewpoint. You glide and slide over how healthcare can be financed and how policy might bend down the curve of ever increasing costs. Either an empty mind, or an unwillingness to be candid, with neither option very appealing for a singleminded mining tool. Being generous, perhaps too many hits to the head playing hockey.
Opinions can differ.
___________FURTHER UPDATE___________
Strib posted local content, not a wire service carry, stating mid-item:
A spokesperson for the National Republican Campaign Committee (NRCC) said Friday that the district is a top priority, and the Minnesota GOP called it one of the biggest pickup opportunities for national Republicans. The leading Republican candidate so far this year has been Pete Stauber, a St. Louis County Board member and retired Duluth police officer.
“Minnesota’s Eighth District was already a top pickup opportunity in the country for national Republicans, and today’s news (puts) Stauber in an even stronger position,” read a statement from the state GOP.
Last fall, Mills said that he wouldn’t run against Nolan for a third time, and criticized the NRCC for its failure to adequately support his campaign. The GOP left us “flat footed and unable to mount a commensurate campaign,” Mills wrote on Facebook. But following Nolan’s announcement Friday, Mills edged back toward a possible run.
“I have received numerous calls, emails and messages. I am very seriously considering another run for U.S. Congress to represent Minnesota’s 8th District,” Mills tweeted.
The state Legislature’s two top-ranking Republicans, House Speaker Kurt Daudt of rural Isanti County and Senate Majority Leader Paul Gazelka of Nisswa, both live in the Eighth District; both could face requests from party leaders to consider the race.
[...] Phifer said that she looked forward to furthering Nolan’s progressive legacy on single-payer healthcare and campaign finance reform, and uniting the local DFL’s divisions between mining and job concerns, Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton supporters, and different geographic areas.
But Phifer is unlikely to clear the DFL field, with a number of current and former elected DFL officials from Duluth, the Iron Range and other parts of northeastern Minnesota as possible candidates. Joe Radinovich, a DFLer from Nolan’s hometown of Crosby, plans to spend the weekend talking to his family about running.
“It’s a pretty unexpected set of circumstances,” said Radinovich, a former state representative who served as Nolan’s 2016 campaign manager and is currently Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey’s chief of staff.
Two other potential DFL candidates are state Rep. Jason Metsa of Virginia, who confirmed his interest Friday in a press release; and Jeff Anderson of Duluth, a Nolan aide and former member of the Duluth City Council.
Don Ness, a DFLer and former Duluth mayor, said the district has fundamentally changed over the last 20 years. Gone are the days when longtime DFLer Jim Oberstar won his races handily; he was Minnesota’s longest-serving U.S. House member, losing the seat to a Republican in 2010 and dying in 2014.
Lots of text to gin up readership perhaps, but it now is Phifer, Stauber, and Green Party. Stuart Mills entering on the GOP side would be an interesting development. Wolves can pack when they believe there is prey, but Phifer seems solid and ahead of a bunch whose biggerst problems will be name recognition and product differentation - there already is one mining tool, so how many others are needed?
A Republican primary is more likely than one in the DFL, but wolves smell prey. A starting point in the ginned up speculation is that Phifer had solid support and appeal, even with Nolan in the hunt and the incumbent. Some of those names, perhaps known on the range, but it looks as if Strib's writer took up a phone book, etc.
____________FURTHER UPDATE_____________
Hat tip to a friend sending me a link reminder. Proof: Toolness is not a Republican captive alone. Toolness knows no party bounds. It merely requires the right personality.
Spotty, how could I not remember on my own?