GOP mailer raises hackles over census similarity

A survey and fundraising mailer from the Republican National Committee confused some Minnesota recipients with a label that marked it as “2010 Congressional District Census.”

The mailings have been showing up this week in homes in Minnesota and other states. One ended up at the home of St. Paul City Council President Kathy Lantry, who said she initially thought it was her official census form.

“The census is supposed to be nonpartisan, and the city is doing a tremendous amount of work to get people to participate,” Lantry, a Democrat, told the St. Paul Pioneer Press. “This doesn’t help our cause.”

The U.S. Census Bureau is in the midst of a $300 million promotional campaign to get people to fill out their once-a-decade census forms starting in March. Minnesota’s number of congressional seats and billions in federal aid could be at stake.

“The document clearly indicates that it is an RNC mailer,” said LeRoy Coleman, spokesman for the RNC. “The purpose of this document is to gather Republican opinion from across the country and raise a little money.”