Minn. DFL party endorses Nolan to oppose Cravaack

by Rupa Shenoy, Minnesota Public Radio
May 5, 2012


St. Paul, Minn. — The state DFL party has endorsed former congressman Rick Nolan to oppose Republican U.S. Rep. Chip Cravaack in the state's 8th Congressional District.
Nolan earned the endorsement over opponents including former state Sen. Tarryl Clark and former Duluth councilman Jeff Anderson.
Nolan won with 76 percent of the first ballot at the 8th District convention Saturday.
Nolan likely will still face two Democratic challengers in August.
In early March Clark said she would run in the DFL primary. Later the same month Anderson said he would also run in the primary rather than compete for the party endorsement. He said his support for the mining industry and job creation made the endorsement unattainable.
Nolan said he won't focus on the primary. "I'm not going to say an unkind word because I don't have a unkind thought about the potential primary opponents that I'm looking at here. There are plenty of things to bring to the voters attention on Chip Cravaack and that's where I'm going to focus my campaign," he said.
DFL party chair Ken Martin released a statement Saturday calling Nolan a proven leader who will work to create jobs.
Cravaack ran a low-budget campaign in 2010 and upset longtime Rep. Jim Oberstar.