Bachmann country is now a battleground
ST. CLOUD - Democratic congressional candidate Jim Graves walked into a bar and headed straight for the group wearing the Michele Bachmann for Congress buttons.
Minnesota's Sixth Congressional District, which stretches from exurbs through farmlands and blue-collar towns, has been Bachmann country since 2006, when the conservative lawmaker bootstrapped herself into the U.S. House of Representatives. She has fended off every Democratic and third-party challenger since then and become an icon to Tea Party Republicans.
But this year, Bachmann is up against an atypical Democrat -- a wealthy businessman who embraces capitalism and has a strong libertarian streak on social issues. By midweek, the two were clashing fiercely over competing ads, with Bachmann labeling Graves as "Big Spending Jim," and Graves accusing her of being more concerned with her national brand than her constituents.
Bachmann canceled the interview she had scheduled for this story. But her campaign spokesman, Chase Kroll, railed against Graves' attempts to appeal to Bachmann's conservative base. "The thing about Jim Graves is that he will say different things depending on the audience he's talking to," Kroll said.
At the Red Carpet nightclub Tuesday night, Graves touted his free-market credentials at a weekly town-hall meeting organized by conservative talk radio host Dan "Ox" Ochsner, of KNSI Radio.
SNIP....
http://www.startribune.com/politics/statelocal/170605246.html?refer=y
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