From TwinCitiesPress.com:

Minnesota Republican leaders plan to craft a state version of the “Contract with America” that led to the GOP’s sweep of Congress in 1994, hoping it will thrust them to control of state government next fall.

After a mass candidate filing at the secretary of state’s office today led by GOP-endorsed gubernatorial candidate Tom Emmer, nearly 100 Republican hopefuls packed into a hot State Office Building press conference room to show their unity.

“This feels and smells like a locker room,” said Emmer, a former college hockey player.

State Republican Party Chairman Tony Sutton proclaimed, “I’m going to tell you what’s going to happen in November. Not only is Tom Emmer going to be governor, but we’re going to take control of the House and the Senate.”

Party leaders always say stuff like that, but this group seemed to believe it.

“The last time I saw something with this kind of energy, this kind of enthusiasm was 1994,” said House Minority Leader Kurt Zellers, R-Maple Grove, referring to the year Republicans, behind Newt Gingrich, took control of the U.S. House for the first time in 40 years. In Minnesota that year, the GOP won an open U.S. Senate seat, retained the governor’s office and picked up 13 state House seats.

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