MN lege: Rep. Daudt calls it a day
After the last redistricting soon-to-be-former MN Rep. Kurt Daudt (R-Zimmerman) became “my” state representative. One way the redistricting worked out was that some suburban districts got a little bluer, and some exurban ones like mine actually got redder. In all likelihood Daudt could have held this seat for several more cycles at a bare minimum, with about as much effort as AKlo has to put into her reelections. Yet he’s fleeing.
There was a time when at least in corporate media Rep. Daudt was seen as a potential force in Minnesota politics, maybe running for a swing district U.S. congressional seat or whatever. Of course for quite a while now the Republican political bench in this state has been so emaciated that political media here has to grasp at whatever they can to keep up the both-sidesism.
Daudt actually attended the same public high school that I did, though many years later. A former teacher of both of us has indicated that in class Kurt sat in back, evinced no great interest in the proceedings, and though by no means a complete dolt just did what he had to to get by. We all had high school classmates like that.
Regarding which, to each her or his own as far as I’m concerned. But it’s not what you would have expected of a future state representative who for a time held a quite significant position. Presumably what got him into politics is his readily apparent bloated ego. Nothing unusual about that, especially among the contemporary Party of Trump. Though for many politicians being in a likely long-term legislative minority isn’t the best place from which to engorge that ego.
In any case, good riddance. Not that this district is likely to do better, though we DFLers here will try. But there was something about Daudt’s particular kind of self-regard and authoritarianism that I found especially irksome. And for all I know he’ll stay in the public eye in Minnesota, one way or another.
Comment from Joseph Musich: Yea irksome may not go far enough. Is he going to try to dethrone Stauber. At least I think Crown is in the 7th.
Reply from Dan Burns: Crown is in the 6th, about ten miles south of where it borders the 8th. My own thought is that he may do what I’m pretty sure John Kline did, which is get paid to do nothing by the Center of the American Experiment until he runs for something in 2026. Maybe even governor. But I think it more likely that he’s leaving electoral politics, which got to where it’s no fun for him any longer, and he just couldn’t face another session in the minority.
Comment from Dan Burns: Wait a minute, Crown is in the 8th, barely, where Stauber is, though it’s possible that Daudt’s own residence is in the 6th. It would be late for him to start in on a primary challenge to Stauber in any case. And except for a vote here and there Pete has been pretty loyal to the Trump wing.
Comment from Joseph Musich: We need better maps. And better reps – in some districts Howdy Daudt would not be an improvement. I wonder how “loyal” this group of tRump bulbs would be to one another if a desire to do a Bobert should occur?
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