From Morning Hot Dish, the Star Tribune's A.M. political newsletter. To subscribe, go to http://www.startribune.com/membercenter.

Add the name of state Rep. Carly Melin, DFL-Hibbing, to the maybe list for a 2012 run against Republican U.S. Rep. Chip Cravaack.

"I have thought about and I've been asked and I guess I'm just keeping an open mind, at this point. It's obviously really important to me that we win that seat back for the future of this region," Melin said.

"Right now, I'm just planning on focusing on my [Minnesota] House seat," said the freshman state rep. "If it got to the point where I thought we needed to have a change in the candidates in order to win the seat then I might give it some more serious thought."