Former congressional candidate Cummins enters state Senate race

PINE CITY - Just weeks after dropping out of the race for U.S House of Representatives, Michael Cummins has announced his candidacy for state Senate in Minnesota’s 8th District.

Cummins (R-Brook Park) said in a press release Sunday that he sees a spending problem in St. Paul and says he wants to stop mandates on schools, communities, and local governments.

Cummins, who lost to Rep. Jim Oberstar in the 2008 congressional election, originally planned to challenge him again this fall.  Cummins told Red Rock Radio after dropping out of the race, “If I cannot put 100 percent into the race, then it is unfair to the 8th District to run a race that I cannot be focused on. It is also not fair to those who I will be working with on their construction projects.”

In the state Senate race, Cummins will challenge Sen. Tony Lourey (DFL-Kerrick).