Dakota County Commissioner to Run for Second Congressional District

A third DFLer has entered the Second Congressional District race in hopes to unseat Republican Rep. John Kline.

Mendota Heights is part of the Second Congressional District. 

Dakota County Commissioner and former South St. Paul Mayor Kathleen Gaylord on Thursday filed paperwork with the Federal Election Commission declaring her intention to run.

Gaylord represents South St. Paul, West St. Paul, Sunfish Lake, and a portion of Inver Grove Heights on the county board. 

Gaylord joins former Eagan State Rep. and Northfield City Councilor  as candidates seeking the DFL endorsement to run against Kline, a five-term incumbent.

A DFL endorsement is expected April 28.

"It’s time for new representation in the new (Second) Congressional District,” Gaylord said in a statement after filing. “Voters of all political persuasions are fed up with elected officials who put partisanship ahead of progress. They want common sense government instead of governance by the lowest common denominator." 

Gaylord, an attorney, is in her third term as a Dakota County Commissioner, having been elected in 2002 and re-elected in 2006 and 2010. In 2006 and 2009, she was elected Dakota County Board Chair and is the current Vice Chair.

Prior to her service on the Dakota County Board, Gaylord served for 10 years as the mayor of South St. Paul after eight years on the South St. Paul City Council.

She currently chairs the state Property Tax Working Group to study ways to simplify the state property tax system. 

Kline targeted?

For years, Kline has been a safe bet during election season, churning out double-digit election wins every cycle.

But after this year's Congressional redistricting, the new Second District now includes DFL-leaning portions of northern Dakota County, as well as southern Washington County, and doesn't include Republican strongholds such as Carver County.

In the 2010 election, Kline beat up on DFLer Shelley Madore, winning by 27 points. But the tale of the election lay in fundraising: the Star Tribune reported that Madore raised just $89,000 compared to Kline's $1.5 million.

Kline is now the target of Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee radio ads, according to MinnPost, slamming the Congressman for his vote in support of Rep. Paul Ryan's Republican budget plan that eliminates Medicare.

In addition, Politico is reporting that the Democratic National Committee is looking more closely at the Second District, and could plow money into the race in support of a Democrat.

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