House District 03B
- Loren Solberg - DFL (Campaign Finance Bd.)
- Carolyn McElfatrick - R (Campaign Finance Bd.)
100% rural. Grand Rapids is home to the Judy Garland Birthplace and Museum. The statewide, rural-focused Blandin Foundation, based in Grand Rapids, is active in promoting community development and leadership. Blandin Paper's facility in Grand Rapids employs almost 3,000 people, making it one of the largest employers in northern Minnesota. Besides many lakes, there are thousands of acres of peat lands. Peat farming accounts for nearly 25% of farming operations in the area. A significant number of Twin Cities retirees are buying second homes here and they are changing the complexion of the district. Politically, the district is diverse with strong DFL leanings. The labor influence is strong. The city of Grand Rapids tends to be somewhat more Republican than the rest of the district. Aitkin County voted for Bush; Itasca County for Kerry.
To get a much better picture of each candidate's prospects, your best bet is to order the 2007-2008 Politics in Minnesota Directory, which includes election histories for each incumbent, the vote percentages for major candidates in each district and much more in addition to the maps and district descriptions below. Buy the Directory here. Please note that the district maps and written descriptions are copyrighted. We encourage you to link to the pages, but printing them for dissemination requires the permission of the publisher. To get permission, write to staff@politicsinminnesota.com.
Also, please note that some incumbents do not yet have opponents. Candidate filings close July 15, 2008.
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