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Home | Politically Connected | National Politics | U.S. House
Iraq vet to challenge Kline in 2nd District
DFLer Steve Sarvi, a 19-year Army veteran, sees room for improvement in domestic and foreign affairs.
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A 19-year Army veteran who recently returned from a 22-month deployment in Iraq with the Minnesota National Guard filed papers on Thursday as a Democrat candidate to oppose incumbent Republican John Kline in Minnesota's Second Congressional District.
Steve Sarvi, the former mayor of Watertown and currently the city administrator of Victoria, said he gave a great deal of thought to running while serving with the Minnesota Guard in southern Iraq. His father, acting as a surrogate, crisscrossed the district to find out what the issues were and what chances Sarvi might have against Kline, a 25-year Marine veteran serving his third term in Congress.
"Sometimes when you are away as long as I was, you get a chance to think about things that are really important in life," Sarvi said. "I'm just worried about the way we're going not only internationally but domestically as well."
Sarvi was critical of Kline's voting record supporting the Bush agenda and Kline's criticism of using so-called earmarks to fund transportation projects within his district.
"We get back and a couple of weeks after we're back a bridge goes down and I see a lot of infrastructure issues that haven't been addressed," he said. "There's just a whole host of things that need attention."
Sarvi was stationed in southern Iraq with the Guard and came away from the experience convinced that a new course is needed.
"It's time for us to start stepping back out of there, pulling our forces back and making the Iraqis step up and take charge of the country," said Sarvi, who did civil affairs work with Iraqis and helped to train Iraqi police as a first sergeant. "At some point we're getting in the way."
The Second Congressional District spans the width of the entire southern Twin Cities metro area and contains all of Carver, Scott, Le Sueur, Goodhue and Rice counties. It contains almost all of Dakota County and southern Washington County.
It has become one of the most reliably Republican districts in the state. Kline has won by double digits in his three races since taking office, including 16 percentage-point victories in 2004 and 2006. But the state's DFL leaders think the district could be competitive, particularly with a combat veteran running against Kline.
A spokesman for Kline's office declined to comment on Sarvi's campaign.
DFLers have picked up 10 legislative seats in the district since 2004, while reelecting all three state Senate incumbents and seven state House incumbents. Nine of the 10 legislative seats picked up since 2004 have come at the expense of Republican incumbents.
Mark Brunswick • 651-222-1636
Mark Brunswick • mbrunswick@startribune.com
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