Dems and Reps already fighting in open Minnesota senate seat

[MissCatholic]

The bad blood is already evident in the 2006 U.S. Senate race in Minnesota, an open-seat contest that promises to be one of the most-watched in the nation.

Rep. Mark Kennedy, the Republicans' presumptive frontrunner, backed out of a forum with Hmong leaders in St. Paul this week after Democrats complained Monday that it would be a congressionally funded campaign event.

Rep. Betty McCollum, a Democrat who represents St. Paul, threatened to complain to the House ethics committee, citing House rules that limit the use of congressional funds and staff time to support "duties to the district from which elected."

"This is an arrogant and blatant disregard for House rules," she said. "If it wasn't a campaign event, he would hold this forum in his own district for his own constituents."

Kennedy, who represents a district northwest of the Twin Cities, announced Friday that he would hold a public forum in St. Paul to discuss his recent trip to a Hmong refugee camp in Thailand.

Kennedy spokeswoman Anne Mason said his Washington office made a "verbiage error" in saying he would hold the meeting; in fact, she said, he had merely been invited to attend by Hmong leaders who briefed him before his State Department-sponsored tour of Asia.

That account was supported by Xa Vang of the Hmong American Mutual Assistance Association. "The Hmong people wanted to find out what he learned," Vang said. "If the congresswoman is not happy, we can choose a different site."