DFL political guru Jeff Blodgett will take the helm of Barack Obama's Minnesota presidential campaign starting July 1.
Blodgett helped Paul Wellstone to an upset victory over U.S. Sen. Rudy Boschwitz in 1990, serving as campaign manager during the early part of the campaign. He headed both of Wellstone's reelection efforts, and when Wellstone died in a plane crash 11 days before the 2002 election, Blodgett helped Wellstone's successor in the race, Walter Mondale, in an unsuccessful attempt to hold the seat. Former St. Paul Mayor Norm Coleman emerged the winner in that race and now is seeking reelection.
Blodgett was a senior adviser to Sen. Amy Klobuchar's 2006 campaign.
This time, he'll be calling the shots and heading the grass-roots organizing and intensely detailed get-out-the-vote efforts that have been the hallmark of his political style.
To take over a campaign where the candidate can generate amphitheater-sized crowds and leave thousands on the street waiting to get in "is kind of a dream job," Blodgett said. "My biggest task will be harnessing the energy that Senator Obama has already created among people."
"We're not taking anything for granted," Blodgett said. "We're running all-out, extremely hard."
Should Gov. Tim Pawlenty become Republican John McCain's running mate, Blodgett said, "that will make Minnesota more competitive, but that means we'll just work harder."
Blodgett said that he already has started reaching out to former Hillary Rodham Clinton supporters in Minnesota and said that "everyone who was in a leadership position with the Clinton campaign will be invited to this one."
Blodgett will take a leave of absence as executive director of the Wellstone Action nonprofit organization, which he founded, to run the campaign.
PATRICIA LOPEZ
