Minnesota: Sixth District

Rep. Michele Bachmann (R)

Michele Bachmann (R) Elected 2006, 1st term up
Born:	04-06-1956, Waterloo, IA
Home:	Stillwater
Education:	Winona State U., B.A. 1978, Oral Roberts U., J.D. 1986, Col. of William and Mary, LL.M. 1988
Religion:	Lutheran
Marital Status:	married (Marcus)
Elected  Office:	MN Senate, 2000-06.
Professional Career:	Practicing atty., 1995-2000.
DC Office	412 CHOB, 20515 202-225-2331 Fax: 202-225-6475 Website: bachmann.house.gov
State Offices	St. Cloud:320-253-5931; Woodbury:651-731-5400;
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The earliest settlers to the Twin Cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul came up the Mississippi River, or up the rail lines that were soon built on the bottomlands beside. They lived within walking distance of the mills and factories and railyards; as the first streetcars and then automobiles allowed them to live farther from work, they spread out in St. Paul and Minneapolis and then all around the lake-strewn countryside. The flatlands are bleak here when the winter sun struggles to shine through gray clouds. The lakes are often surrounded by, and sometimes indistinguishable from, swamps. Stillwater, an old lumber mill town built by pioneers on the hills above the St. Croix River, once nearly became Minnesota’s capital, but later turned into an economic backwater, its Victorian structures ill-tended. Even so, the creativity and productivity of Minnesotans have turned this superficially grim countryside into some of the nation’s most pleasant suburbs. Taking maximum advantage of their lakes, they refurbished old towns and farmhouses and built comfortable homes in new subdivisions.

The 6th Congressional District of Minnesota is a suburban and exurban district north of St. Paul and Minneapolis. It dips as far south and east as Stillwater, with new riverfront housing developments along the St. Croix. It spreads north over Washington and Anoka Counties, just north of the Twin Cities, with a mix of upscale and working class suburbs. To the northwest, along the Mississippi River, are Wright, Sherburne and Benton Counties, which have grown rapidly, from 140,000 in 1990 to 238,000 in 2006. These were once rural areas, with here and there a small town and a small city as the county seat. Now this lake country is filling with new subdivisions and shopping centers, and young voters usually from ancestrally DFL families who have become the key swing voters in the state. Farther to the northwest, the district also includes the eastern half of St. Cloud-based Stearns County, a heavily German Catholic area and a stronghold of anti-abortion sentiment. The 1990s saw an influx of Vietnamese, Chinese and Japanese people into St. Cloud; since then, many Somalis have moved in. In 1998 the district, especially the fast-growing counties, was Jesse Ventura Country. At the same time, the newcomers tended to vote Republican for other office, and ever since. George W. Bush carried the district 52%-42% in 2000 and 57%-42% in 2004, the latter his best showing in any Minnesota district. In 2002 it produced big margins for Republican Senator Norm Coleman and Governor Tim Pawlenty. In 2006, Pawlenty again swept the district although in the Senate race Democrat Amy Klobuchar won four of the six counties here against Republican Mark Kennedy, the 6th District's congressman at the time.

The new congresswoman for the 6th District is Michele Bachmann, a Republican elected in 2006. Bachmann grew up in cities across the Midwest and attended Winona State University, where she met her husband while working on Jimmy Carter's 1976 presidential campaign. She became disillusioned with Carter and his party’s position on abortion, and gravitated toward Ronald Reagan and the Republican Party. Bachmann and her husband, both born-again Christians, moved to Tulsa, where she earned a degree at Coburn Law School at Oral Roberts University. After studying tax law at the College of William and Mary, Bachmann landed a job as a U.S. Treasury Department attorney in St. Paul arguing criminal and civil tax cases. Her political career began in 1999 with a losing bid for the Stillwater school board. A year later, she won a seat in the state Senate by defeating a moderate Republican incumbent for the party endorsement and then in the primary. In 2002, she defeated a ten-year Democratic incumbent when redistricting put them in the same Senate district. In the Legislature, Bachmann sought to protect private-property rights, limit government spending, and cut taxes. She was a prominent abortion opponent, and gained notoriety in 2004 for leading the Senate fight for a state constitutional amendment to ban same-sex marriage.

When Republican incumbent Mark Kennedy gave up the 6th District seat to run for Senate, Bachmann entered the Republican race as the candidate to beat; she clinched the nomination at the party convention by defeating three other candidates. She had a following among social conservatives, but her stances also made her a polarizing political figure. There were clear ideological differences separating Bachmann and her Democratic opponent, Patty Wetterling, who was defeated by Kennedy 54%-46% two years earlier. Wetterling, a nationally recognized advocate for missing children after her 11-year-old son Jacob was abducted in 1989 and never found, originally had announced she was running for Senate, but returned to the House race after Democrats rallied behind Amy Klobuchar. Her support for abortion rights, her call for the withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq, and opposition to a constitutional amendment outlawing same-sex marriage allowed Republicans to portray her as too liberal for this suburban and exurban seat.

Neither candidate lacked money: Wetterling spent more than $3 million to Bachmann’s $2.7 million. President Bush helped Bachmann raise more than $500,000 at an August fundraiser, while Wetterling enjoyed support from EMILY’s List; the NRCC spent nearly $2.5 million in the race, more than double its Democratic counterpart. Bachmann downplayed her social positions and instead emphasized her opposition to taxes. Wetterling trailed in polls until October, when the Mark Foley congressional page scandal suddenly thrust her into the national spotlight. With her background in child advocacy, Wetterling emerged as a top party spokeswoman on the scandal. Four days after Foley resigned, she ran the first ad in the country mentioning the scandal. Democratic leaders tapped her to deliver the party’s weekly radio address. But Bachmann was well-positioned to weather the political fallout. She is the mother of 5 children and she had sponsored legislation in the state Senate to establish a task force on Internet crimes against juveniles; she was also a foster parent to 23 children. Polls showed that Wetterling had surged ahead after the scandal broke, but the lead was fleeting. In a political atmosphere that could not have been more hostile for Republicans, Bachmann won a decisive 50%-42%victory.

Bachmann won widespread notice in January 2007 during the State of the Union address. Like many other members, she had staked out a prime aisle seat in the House so she could greet President Bush. On his exit from the House chamber after the speech, Bush signed two autographs for Bachmann. The freshman clutched his shoulder for nearly 30 seconds, even as he greeted other members, and the president kissed her on the cheek. Video of the awkward encounter played repeatedly on the Internet. Democrat Bob Olson, an attorney, dropped his 2008 Senate bid against Norm Coleman and announced in July 2007 that he would instead run against Bachmann in the 6th District; attorney Bob Hill, also a Democrat, had already declared his intention to run.

Committees

• Financial Services (29th of 33 R)
  Oversight & Investigations; Domestic and International Monetary Policy, Trade & Technology; Capital Markets, Insurance & Government Sponsored Enterprises.

Presidential Vote

District Demographics (More Info)

• Cook Partisan Voting Index: R + 5
• Area size: 3,237 square miles
• Urban Population: 63.8%
• Rural Population: 36.2%
• Population 2000: 614,935
• Population 2005 (est): 707,195
• Median Income: $56,862
• Poverty Status: 4.7%
• Military Veterans: 12.4%
• Race/Ethnic Origin: 94.9% White; 0.9% Black; 1.4% Asian; 0.4% Native Am.; 0.0% Hawaiian; 1.0% Two+ races; 0.1% Other; 1.3% Hispanic Origin;
• Ancestry: 29.9% German%; 10.0% Norwegian%; 8.0% Irish%;
• Occupation: Blue collar 26.9%; White collar 60.3%; Gray collar 12.8%;