St. Louis County commissioner announces run for U.S. Senate

St. Louis County Commissioner Chris Dahlberg confirmed today that he plans to run for the U.S. Senate seat now held by Sen. Al Franken.

Dahlberg, 51, said he plans to make a formal announcement just before his Oct. 1 retirement from the U.S. Army Reserves, but the word got out this week when a prominent conservative donor circulated a memo in support of his candidacy.

Stanley S. Hubbard, chairman and CEO of Hubbard Broadcasting, told friends and colleagues in an e-mail Monday that Dahlberg “has several qualities that make him a particularly strong candidate.”

In a statement Tuesday evening, Dahlberg said the support is welcome.

“I realize that I’m not well known outside of Northeastern Minnesota, so the only way to change that is to meet as many people as I can during the coming year,” he said. “I’m humbled that Mr. Hubbard likes what I stand for, and I intend to show all Minnesotans — regardless of political orientation — that I’ll bring a common-sense, balanced and fiscally conservative approach to representing them in Washington, D.C.”

Dahlberg, an attorney, is currently serving as chair of the St. Louis County Board of Commissioners, having first been elected to the board in 2008 and re-elected in 2012. He served on the Duluth City Council from 1992-1994.

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