Ten years ago, judges shook up the state's Congressional politics by totally rearranging three suburban Twin Cities districts. This year, after Democratic Gov. Mark Dayton and the legislature couldn't agree on a map, court-appointed special masters produced much less drama and put forward a "least-changes" plan. Although GOP Rep. Michele Bachmann's home wasn't drawn into the new 6th CD, she actually gets safer. At the moment, the real race to watch still looks like the Iron Range 8th CD, where three Democrats are vying for the right to take on freshman GOP Rep. Chip Cravaack.
The new map can be found here.
New District Baselines
MN-01: Tim Walz (D) – South: Rochester, Mankato, Faribault
Solid Democratic. Some 2006 Democratic upset victors have been able to maintain their "outsider" image to weather a turbulent environment in the years since, and others have not. Walz, a former teacher and high school football coach who came out of nowhere to unseat GOP Rep. Gil Gutknecht in 2006, may be the prime example of staying power. In 2010, Walz faced GOP state Rep.
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