WASHINGTON - State Rep. Erik Paulsen of Eden Prairie, the only announced Republican in the Third Congressional District race, has shot up to the top in the money chase over his DFLer rivals.
Paulsen's fundraising total came as a relief Monday to Republican strategists, who thought he might be hurt by recent press reports suggesting that longtime Republican Rep. Jim Ramstad could be wavering in his decision to retire at the end of his current term.
Paulsen, vying to replace Ramstad, announced nearly $390,000 in fundraising receipts during the last three months of 2007, almost $90,000 more than the year-end total announced by the leading DFL fundraiser in the race, state Sen. Terri Bonoff of Minnetonka.
Iraq war veteran Ashwin Madia reported raising $161,150 by the end of the year. Edina Mayor Jim Hovland, who formally entered the race last week, has not released any fundraising figures.
Ramstad has indicated in recent weeks that he still plans to retire, but that he doesn't want to leave Congress before winning passage of a signature bill providing more generous health benefits to people with mental illness and chemical dependency. That legislation, which he worked on with the late Sen. Paul Wellstone, is currently stalled over differences between the House and the Senate.
Ramstad's decision to retire after his ninth term has set up what could be one of the most competitive open-seat races in the nation. Although Republicans have held the seat since 1961, the looming expense of defending the suburban district without Ramstad has prompted some GOP leaders to ask him to reconsider.
KEVIN DIAZ
