Today, Gov. Tim Pawlenty announced his appointment of state Sen. Tom Neuville, R-Northfield, to serve on the bench of the Rice County District Court.
Neuville’s rambling Senate floor crusades against the smoking ban and global warming legislation will be sorely missed.
This now sets up a special election yet to be called by Pawlenty. According to Mary Lahammer at Almanac, Ray Cox, a former state representative from Northfield, intends to seek the Republican nomination for this seat. No DFLers have yet announced.
The seat, SD 35, has been competitive the previous two elections. Neuville defeated Rice County Commissioner Jessica Peterson 52-48 in 2006 and beat Jim Mladek 53-47 in 2004.
This seat will be no means a shoo-in for the GOP, regardless of the candidate.
Cox, a moderate, should be a strong candidate for the GOP if endorsed. He had been in the House for two terms, succumbing to the DFL whirlwind in 2006 losing to DFLer David Bly by 60 votes. In 2004, Cox beat Bly 51-49. In 2002, Cox won the initial match-up between the pair by just 46 votes.
Knowing this, Cox should do better for the GOP in the DFL-leaning half of the district, but considering this is a special election, would the GOP be better served by having a more conservative candidate, one which the base would be more willing to work for, such as perhaps Rep. Laura Brod?
In Democratic times nationally, the DFL should do well but can by no means be lazy. The western part of the district especially, served by Brod in the House, is quite conservative. It will also make a difference when on the calendar the special election is held. If it is held while college is in session, following the winter break, the DFL would be able to take advantage of the added base, students, that would likely be less interested in the contest if they are home with mom and dad and away from SD 25.
This should be an interesting race to follow, as special elections usually are.
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