Walz-Gutknecht race makes the Wall Street Journal

The October 30 issue of the Wall Street Journal features an article on the Gutknecht-Walz contest in Minnesota's 1st Congressional District. While Tim Walz is gaining a lot of attention for his novice candidacy, there is an upside for Gil Gutknecht as well: His name hasn't been mentioned in the press this much for a long, long time.

In Minnesota, 'Everyman' on the Ballot

Political Novice Battles Republican Incumbent, with Iraq and Immigration at Forefront

By DAVID ROGERS

ROCHESTER, Minn. -- If there is one House race that captures the struggle between Republican power in Congress and a grass-roots demand for change, it is here in Minnesota's First District.

Twelve-year incumbent Rep. Gil Gutknecht is a political survivor and force for the dairy industry as a senior member of the House Agriculture Committee. But in a district President Bush carried twice, the Republican Party and corporate allies are spending heavily to fend off Democrat Tim Walz, a high-school teacher and political newcomer.

Three possible 2008 presidential contenders -- Republican Sen. John McCain and Democratic Sens. John Kerry and Barack Obama -- are all due here this week. Mr. McCain's appearance, which his camp says is to help re-elect Gov. Tim Pawlenty, not Mr. Gutknecht per se, touches a nerve since Mr. Walz -- a retired National Guard master sergeant -- is a fellow veteran and has been attacked by Mr. Gutknecht for supporting immigration policies akin to the Arizona senator's.

"It's been, 'Holy smokes, the First District can elect a guy who woke up one morning and said let's change this country and let's do this together,' " Mr. Walz laughs.

The heart of his campaign is just that: Everyman running for Congress. With his former National Guard artillery unit deployed in Iraq, Mr. Walz emphasizes the need for change in the war's strategy. But most of all, given the House's low standing in opinion polls and voter anxiety about America losing its way, he sees his candidacy as a wake-up call for Congress and the nation.

"When you wake up Nov. 8, it can be a brand new world," he told supporters last week in Owatonna. "It's not vindictiveness. It's not us saying all our Republican neighbors are wrong. It's us saying this Congress is broken. This rubber-stamp Congress is not giving this country the ability to move forward and compromise.

"If you know how good we are going to feel, picture for a moment how the rest of the world is going to feel. When they wake up Nov. 8, they're going to look and say, 'The Americans are back.' "

Up and down the ballot, Minnesota is a battleground this fall with a Senate seat and the governor's mansion also up for grabs. Early in the nominating process during the spring, Mr. Walz -- who bears a resemblance to another high-school teacher and coach: House Speaker Dennis Hastert of Illinois -- showed promise but was overlooked nationally because of his lack of political experience. He and his fellow Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party candidates are their own cast of characters, less a political party than a repertory company for modern America.

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In the First District, both national parties have entered the fray's home stretch with attack ads focused on the race's top issues: immigration and the war in Iraq. Labor unions are helping Mr. Walz; Agriculture Secretary Mike Johanns and first lady Laura Bush made back-to-back appearances with Mr. Gutknecht, and, led by agribusiness interests, political action committees have contributed almost $200,000 into the contest since Labor Day.

In an interview during the spring, Mr. Gutknecht played down the political threat posed by the war. But after traveling to Baghdad this summer, he began expressing doubts about the direction of U.S. policy. "The American people are incredibly patient, but their patience is almost at the end," he says.

The congressman faults the Mark Foley page scandal for a drop in his own polls during the first week of October, but says he has recovered. The first lady puts "more of a human face" on the administration and, he says, will help him reach out to swing voters. "They don't wake up in the morning angry at George Bush," he says. "They wake up frustrated and ask themselves, are we doing the right thing?"

Mr. Walz began running a new Iraq war TV ad last week, showing him standing before empty football bleachers intended to represent the number of dead U.S. troops, now approaching 3,000. "Serving right now are kids I taught, coached and trained to be soldiers," he says to the camera. "They deserve a plan for Iraq to govern itself so they can come home."

To blunt the war issue, Republicans have attacked Mr. Walz on illegal immigration. The challenger has proposed that undocumented workers be put on a path toward earned citizenship, but only if they first return to their native country and legally re-enter the U.S.

This is a position akin to one championed by prominent House conservative Rep. Mike Pence (R., Ind.) and to the right of Mr. McCain, but Republicans are spending heavily on spots accusing Mr. Walz of supporting a sweeping amnesty.

Mr. Walz says he hopes voters will see the attacks as another aspect of Washington they want changed.

(The article is here.)