Paulsen doesn’t rule out statewide run
Paulsen on Senate run from tommy scheck on Vimeo.
Republican Congressman Erik Paulsen said today he is not ruling out a run for higher office in 2014.
Paulsen has been mentioned as a possible challenger to DFL Senator Al Franken. In the past month, he has told several people that he's not interested in running for Senate - only to have his aides quickly retract those statements.
After a news conference in St. Paul, Paulsen said everything is on the table, including a run for Senate or a run for governor.
Create a More Connected Minnesota
MPR News is your trusted resource for the news you need. With your support, MPR News brings accessible, courageous journalism and authentic conversation to everyone - free of paywalls and barriers. Your gift makes a difference.
"I think we're going to have a lot of candidates that come forward sometime down the road, but I don't think a lot of people are giving much thought at all right now," Paulsen said. "I'm solely focused on my work."
Paulsen also said he has had no conversations with the National Republican Senatorial Committee about challenging Franken.
So far no Republicans have said that they intend to challenge Franken or DFL Governor Mark Dayton.
Both Dayton and Franken say they intend to run for re-election.