State Rep. Randy Demmer, the GOP-endorsed challenger for Democrat Tim Walz's seat in Congress, did a media roundtable Thursday at the National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC), which recently conferred "contender" status on him, one notch below "Young Gun." Coming a day after fellow Minnesota Republican Michele Bachmann rolled out her U.S. House Tea Party Caucus on Capitol Hill, the question naturally arose as to whether Demmer, if elected, would become a member. It's a question that has put a lot of House Republicans on the spot this week. Demmer, it appears, is no more eager to join up than U.S. Reps John Kline and Erik Paulsen, Bachmann's two Minnesota Republican colleagues who so far have declined to attach their names to the newly formed caucus. "I have great respect for the Tea Party movement," said Demmer, noting that he doesn't just join any caucus that comes along. "Whether I'd join that caucus, I can't say." A lot of other U.S. House Republicans have had similar reservations, judging from the confusion Wednesday that surrounded the compilation of Bachmann's final 35-name Tea Party roster. That's 35 out of a total of 178 Republicans in the House. (And zero out of 255 Democrats, though Bachmann said she hopes to work on some of them too). (Update: As Demmer was talking Thursday morning, Bachmann updated her roster to 38).
