Begich backs Nolan

Rick Nolan, a DFL candidate for Congress in Minnesota's 8th Congressional District, picked up a key endorsement today. Former Eveleth Mayor and long-time Minnesota state Rep. Joe Begich backed Nolan's bid. The endorsement will carry some weight on the Iron Range, a DFL stronghold that could determine the DFL nominee.

"With unemployment across the Range and throughout the Eighth District in double digits, with hardworking middle class families losing jobs and homes and hope, Iron Rangers need a leader and a champion again in Washington, and Rick Nolan's the one," Begich said in a news release.

Nolan, who served in Congress between 1975-1981, is vying for the DFL endorsement against former state Sen. Tarryl Clark and Duluth City Council member Jeff Anderson. The eventual nominee is hoping to challenge GOP Rep. Chip Cravaack. Cravaack is serving in his first-term after his surprising upset of DFL Rep. Jim Oberstar.

One outstanding question is whether Nolan or Cravaack will live in the 8th. The courts are expected to release new set of political maps in February that will change the makeup of the state's eight congressional districts.

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