Bachmann May Face Third-Party Challenge

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Things are heating up in the race to unseat 6th District Rep. Michele Bachmann [R-Minn.]: Democrat Maureen Reed raised $230,000in the two months following her announcement to run; past Bachmann challenger Elwyn Tinklenberg says he’ll be in the Democratic primary whether he gets the [Democratic-Farmer-Labor] nod or not; and state Sen. Tarryl Clark is expectedto announce her candidacy soon. A new twist: Third-party candidate Bob Anderson — who garnered 10 percent of the vote in the 2008 election— is seriously considering running again.

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Last time Anderson ran as an unendorsed Independence Party (IP) candidate; Tinklenberg was cross-endorsed by the DFL and the IP. This time, Anderson says he wants just one endorsement — the IP’s. Coinciding with the IP’s executive committee meeting last weekend, he sent a letter to the party indicating his interest in running. He wouldn’t share the letter, but said his first post on his new campaign blog, launched Sunday, sums it up. He writes that candidates should focus on just one party: “I feel if you need the endorsement of two parties you are not the strongest candidate.”