Republican U.S. Rep. Michele Bachmann said she will run for re-election no matter what her district looks like when Minnesota's new political boundaries are released Tuesday.
"I'm intending to run for the House of Representatives, and I'm really looking forward to finding out what the maps are," the Sixth District congresswoman said during a visit on Monday to the state Capitol.
The political maps, drawn by a judicial panel, may dramatically change the political leaning of her district and could put her in the same district as another sitting representative.
Bachmann is far from alone in her anticipation. Ever since DFL Gov. Mark Dayton and the Republican-controlled Legislature failed to agree on a redistricting plan, lawmakers have been awaiting the court's maps for both congressional and state legislative districts. The maps will directly affect lawmakers' careers and the strategies of the state's political parties.
The court announced Monday that it would release the maps on Tuesday at 1 p.m. At that moment, legislators will pivot from making laws to examining their own destinies.
"The bills around here will be irrelevant when they see the maps. It will be all the buzz," said former longtime Senate Majority Leader Roger Moe, who also was at the Capitol on Monday.
The DFL has spent more than $220,000 in the legal case that will end with Tuesday's maps. A Republican effort called Minnesotans for a Fair Redistricting has brought equal force to the legal fight but is not connected to the party.
For Sen. Barb Goodwin, DFL-Columbia Heights, the maps will decide whether she will try to return to the Capitol.
Goodwin said that if her new district includes all of Fridley she will not run again. That's because former state Rep. Connie Bernardy lives in Fridley and may be interested in taking over the Senate seat.
"I promised her that if we were districted together, I would let her go for it," Goodwin said.
Sen. David Hann, R-Eden Prairie, said that even though his home is just one mile from that of Sen. Julianne Ortman, he is not spending too much time thinking about whether he may have to run against her.
"I think all of us are interested but I'm not consumed by it," he said. "The maps are going to be whatever they are going to be."
Rachel E. Stassen-Berger • Twitter: @rachelsb
