Editorial: Why we need a 22A race

The DFL’s failure to endorse a candidate for the District 22A Minnesota House seat is disappointing news.

This is by no means a knock on Keith Forshey, the Hills man who was endorsed by District 22 Republicans to run for the seat being vacated by four-term representative Doug Magnus. Jim Vickerman, who has served as District 22’s senator since 1986, announced his retirement during the just-completed legislative session, and Magnus, R-Slayton, is hoping to move from the Minnesota House to its Senate.

We have no reason to believe Forshey isn’t a credible candidate or is insincere in his desire to represent his constituents to the best of his ability. But, as in the case in basic economic theory, a little competition would be best for all of us.

A DFL candidate — or even someone from outside the mainstream party system, for that matter — would allow us as citizens to hear Forshey’s views on various Minnesota issues as they compare to those of another. Maybe most District 22A voters would still prefer Forshey anyway, but we’d like to think we’d find out much more about the one candidate we have now if there was one or more other individuals running against him.

It wasn’t terribly long ago when District 22A was a DFL stronghold of sorts. For 16 years, Fulda’s Ted Winter was elected to serve in St. Paul, until the Republican Magnus defeated him in 2002. It seems almost unbelievable that a mere eight years later, Democrats can’t find a candidate for this post.

We hope a challenger comes forward — and soon.

Tags: district 22a, opinion, editorials, political, minnesota, forshey