politics

Not your average candidate announcement event.

Child advocate Patty Wetterling jumped into the Sixth District race for Congress on Friday. Within minutes, her chief Democratic rival, Elwyn Tinklenberg, seized the same podium to accuse her of political opportunism.

State Rep. Jim Knoblach, a Republican candidate for the seat, also showed up. Although he didn't make it to the podium, a Wetterling supporter scolded him for "tackiness" for crashing her event.

And Wetterling responded to the charge of political opportunism by saying her past conduct showed she was too politically dumb to be that crafty.

The hour-long theatrics were a little dizzying, but the action at the Anoka County Government Center on Friday morning provided a preview of Minnesota's 2006 marquee congressional matchup. We'll review it one step at a time:

The background

The Sixth District strips across the top of the Twin Cities metro area from Stillwater to St. Cloud. The incumbent Republican, Rep. Mark Kennedy, is vacating the seat to run for the U.S. Senate.

Wetterling, who became famous because of the 1989 abduction of her son Jacob, ran against Kennedy in 2004, losing 54-46 percent. In 2005, Wetterling cited a poll and told a DFL gathering that she would not run for the seat again because "the numbers show me that ... I will not win."

Partly on that belief, Wetterling entered the Senate race after Sen. Mark Dayton decided not to seek a second term.

Tinklenberg, a former Blaine mayor and state transportation commissioner, received her assurance that she would not run for Congress, and entered the Sixth District race.

For months, he had the DFL side of the race to himself, while four Republicans -- state Sen. Michele Bachmann, state Reps. Phil Krinkie and Knoblach, and St. Cloud businessman Jay Esmay -- competed for the GOP endorsement.

On Jan. 20, when Wetterling withdrew from the Senate race, speculation about her future focused on the House seat.

Tick tock

What little suspense remained was spoiled Thursday by Tinklenberg, who told reporters that Wetterling had informed him of her plan. He criticized her for breaking what he considered a commitment.

Friday morning, in the lobby of the government center, as reporters waited for Wetterling to make it official, the state Republican Party handed out a news release headlined "Wetterling Breaks Word."

Then came a release on Krinkie for Congress letterhead quoting Krinkie calling Wetterling a promise-breaker and asserting that he would be the strongest Republican candidate against her.

Releases from Esmay and Knoblach followed, each claiming that Wetterling's candidacy strengthened the issuer's case for electability.

All that, before Wetterling took the stage. She emphasized that she had been urged by citizens from around the district to enter the race, and that she would do so.