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Tuesday's GOP Primary Will Settle Battle To Replace Kline

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — Minnesota Republicans are finally ready to make their pick in the 2nd Congressional District, crystallizing the field in what's likely to be a tight contest to replace one of Minnesota's most prominent members of Congress.

Tuesday's Republican primary will settle a bitter four-way primary between GOP candidates eager to take over for retiring Rep. John Kline. The intra-party battle has dredged up years-old clips from conservative radio hosts Jason Lewis' career, the record of Darlene Miller's machining business and other disputes that just might help Democrats hoping for an opening to win Kline's seat in November.

Also in the race are former Republican state legislator John Howe, who loaned $500,000 to his campaign, and business consultant Matt Erickson, who has fashioned his campaign around Donald Trump.

But Miller and Lewis have focused squarely on one another for months. Lewis won the party's endorsement this spring. Miller has the backing of Kline, the longtime chair of the House's Education Committee, including a supportive TV ad on cable networks ahead of Tuesday's vote.

Miller entered the race late after high-profile possibilities like Mary Pawlenty, a former judge and wife of Gov. Tim Pawlenty, decided against a run.

Miller has promoted her business experience as the owner and chief executive of machining company Permac Industries, but has also spent much of the campaign trying to turn Lewis' radio career against him. And she has stressed that he doesn't live in the 2nd District — though that isn't required at the time of an election. Most recently, her campaign sent out a mailer citing a Lewis radio clip to suggest he supported legalizing heroin. In that clip, Lewis said the legality of drugs like marijuana and heroin should be left up to states.

"The Democrats definitely are going to go after him. He's got 25 years of things he said that are pretty erratic," Miller said. "You have to own what you say."

But Lewis says he's confident his 20-plus-year radio career, part of it nationally syndicated, known as "Mr. Right" — and the name recognition that came with it — will bring him a win. A fast talker who is quick with an idiom or analogy, Lewis said he stands by what he's said on the radio and argued Miller's tactics could backfire.

"Both parties circle the wagons at time, but sometimes it seems only the Republicans start shooting in the center," he said. "I could have been doing a gardening show for 25 years and they would have plucked this and that and used it against me."

Howe, a one-term state senator who also served as mayor of Red Wing, said he's hoping his political experience will compare favorably to the disputes between Miller and Lewis. He's the only candidate to have held elected office.

Even before the primary got underway, Minnesota Democrats were bullish on their chances of winning the southeastern Minnesota district for the first time in more than a decade. The last round of redistricting pushed some more liberal St. Paul suburbs into the district, and President Barack Obama won it in both 2008 and 2012.

The district stretches from rural southeastern Minnesota all the way up to Twin Cities suburbs. It's widely viewed as one of the few remaining swing districts in the country, and Kline's departure touched off a scramble.

But only on the Republican side.

Democrat Angie Craig has stood alone after a rival stepped aside. Rather than sweating a primary, Craig last week was hosting Rep. Steny Hoyer, a top House Democrat, as she continued to stockpile money for the fall. Her $1.7 million was more than triple what the entire Republican field had.

DFL Chairman Ken Martin said the party hopes to capitalize on the Republicans' unsettled race.

"We wanted to make sure weren't in a position where we weren't squandering resources in a primary. Clearly they didn't have similar conversations with their candidates," Martin said.

(© Copyright 2016 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

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