The 2006 Senate race in Minnesota was shaping up to be a weenie-fest. Sen. Dayton was poised to face Rep. Mark Kennedy in what was sure to be an uninspiring campaign. However, Dayton has spent his personal fortune, and because he is such a lame senator with no appeal whatsoever, has no money to run again and doesn't want to bankrupt himself. Thus, he has decided not to run for reelection.
This changes the dynamic because now the Democrats can put up a more credible, qualified and articulate candidate. While Bill Luther and Mike Ciresi are getting hyped early on (and Kennedy has already defeated Luther twice), my pick is that the Democrats will go with savvy Hennepin County Attorney Amy Klobuchar. Klobuchar is extremely intelligent, high-profile because of her prosecution work and very articulate (did I mention well-connected to the $$$$ in the legal community?). She could wipe the floor with Mark Kennedy (who is a very fine man, but not a good politician).
So, here is my early call to have one of our outstanding, articulate Republican women officials such as Michelle Bachmann or Mary Kiffmeyer get into this race (and encourage Kennedy to keep fending off Patty Wetterling in the 6th district).
The Dayton v. Kennedy blog will keep updates on this race (and hopefully rename itself).