WASHINGTON — At least two DFLers will look to challenge Republican Rep. John Kline in 2014.
According to the Star Tribune, former state representative and Kline’s defeated 2012 rival Mike Obermueller plans on running again, as does Sona Mehring, the founder of the CaringBridge website. Mehring told the Strib she recently left her position as CEO of the website to focus on running for Congress. Both will seek the DFL’s endorsement in the race.
Redistricting in 2012 made Kline’s 2nd District a bit more moderate than it had been in the past, and as the Strib notes, President Obama actually won the district last fall (by a mere 226 votes). National Democrats, including the party’s House campaign committee and the liberal House Majority PAC, have already looked to put new pressure on Kline heading into 2014.
Still, Kline tripled up Obermueller’s fundraising total and won 54 percent to 46 percent in 2012 (which, while a fairly comfortable margin, was the tightest re-election victory of Kline’s career). Many political prognosticators consider him a likely bet to hold his seat in 2014, if he runs for re-election: He hasn’t closed the door on a potential run for U.S. Senate against Sen. Al Franken.
Devin Henry can be reached at dhenry@minnpost.com.
