MN-5 Primary

[I spent the winter writing songs about getting better]

Keith Ellison - black State Rep, candidate endrosed in the DFL convention, although that was before some baggage issues came out. He was raised Catholic but became involved with the Nation of Islam at age 19 and is still a Muslim despite severing ties to the NoI and condemning their anti-Semetic and racist views, and is quite socially liberal and a hero of abortion rights and gay rights based on his website. I've decided that his baggage is too much for me to support him in the primary, but his solid legislative credentials mean I'd be willing to vote for him should he win the primary, and that I'd vote for him in 2008 and beyond when he will almost certainly be my congressman should he win the primary. He's making the primary focus of his campaign immediate withdrawl from Iraq.

Mike Erlandson - Former aide to Sabo, state DFL chair and Sabo's endorsee. Basically a Sabo clone and the candidate of the Minneapolis machine. He's drawn some bad blood between him and various DFL officails though. I believe he has been endorsed by the Minneapolis police union.

Ember Reichgott Junge - Female former state Senator. Your typical ultra-liberal female Democratic politician, think Nancy Pelosi or Barbara Boxer.

Paul Ostrow - Minneapolis City Councilman. I don't know much about his record, other than his ward is in Northeast Minneapolis and is a rather blue collar area.

And since Minnesota has an open primary and there are no competitive Republican races, I added the next 4 options, since it makes more sense for Republicans to vote for their most tolerable choice rather than who will be the Republican sacrificial lamb.

As for me, I'm leaning Erlandson, although I would possibly also vote for Junge or Ostrow depending on how things go.