On Saturday, Democrats claimed a late recruiting coup when state Sen. Terri Bonoff announced she will challenge four-term GOP Rep. Erik Paulsen in suburban Minneapolis's 3rd CD. Paulsen's moderate demeanor and record are a good fit here: he took 58 percent in 2012 and 62 percent in 2014. But a Donald Trump or Ted Cruz nomination could be problematic for down-ticket Republicans in the 3rd, by far the best-educated and highest-income district in the state. Paulsen endorsed Marco Rubio in the GOP primaries and would no doubt seek to distance himself from an unpopular GOP nominee in a district that voted for President Obama narrowly in both 2008 (51 percent) and 2012 (49 percent). But he hasn't had to face a credible opponent since 2008, and he could find himself in an awkward position if he has to simultaneously fire up his party base while dissociating himself from Trump or Cruz. Bonoff last ran for this seat in 2008, when she lost the DFL nomination at convention to Iraq veteran Ashwin Madia. At the time, many Democrats considered her the
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