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Grams runs against odds
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Race
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| Contributor | Eric |
| Last Edited | Eric Mar 29, 2005 02:46pm |
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| Category | News |
| Media | Newspaper - St. Paul Pioneer Press |
| News Date | Tuesday, March 29, 2005 08:00:00 PM UTC0:0 |
| Description | WASHINGTON — Former Sen. Rod Grams' office in Washington, D.C.'s Fairchild Building, where he works as a consultant, is three blocks from the U.S. Capitol.
That's not too far, as the crow flies. But for the Minnesota Republican, who hopes to mount a comeback campaign for his old U.S. Senate seat in 2006, the path back to the Capitol is long, difficult and littered with obstacles.
There's the specter of an unsuccessful re-election campaign in 2000, followed by four years out of the public eye. There's a state Republican Party whose leadership openly considers Rep. Mark Kennedy, R-Watertown, its front-runner for the Senate seat. Minnesota's two most prominent Republicans, Gov. Tim Pawlenty and Sen. Norm Coleman, have also thrown their weight behind Kennedy.
And there's the statistical improbability of the campaign: Only two senators have been defeated and subsequently re-elected in the past half-century, according to the Senate Historical Office.
Grams, for one, believes he's up to the challenge. He hasn't announced his candidacy yet, but he has spent recent weeks in Minnesota exploring the political terrain and talking to possible campaign staffers. And he thinks his long-held interest in overhauling the Social Security system, which was a political liability in the past, could make him an asset in Washington as President Bush pursues the same goal.
"I think that people know my track record and the job that I did," Grams said. "And I think that's why I'm getting a lot of the calls and urging by people in Minnesota to take a close look at running in this race."
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