Nolan will probably lose, based on polls (I hope they are wrong)

[question everything]

7. Here are the relevant paragraphs

and, by the way, while the editorial board and all the op-eds are as rapid as they come, the news department is excellent. Always has been.

AITKIN, Minn.—The plumbers, drillers and truck drivers who arrive at the Birchwood Cafe before sunrise pour their own coffee, tuck away eggs and air gripes that help explain why some longtime Democrats now lean Republican.

They are skeptical of President Barack Obama and don’t care much for his party’s support of federal safety-net programs. “You take a look at all the giveaway programs the Democrats have. Nobody wants to work anymore,” said Dale Lundquist, a 69-year-old excavation contractor.

Voters in this northeast Minnesota district have only once sent a Republican to Congress since 1947—for a single term after the 2010 election that produced a wave for the GOP.

But Mr. Lundquist, a former Democrat, and some of his friends say they plan to vote for Stewart Mills, the Republican challenger to Democratic Rep. Rick Nolan, one reason the race is down to the wire—and why the GOP is likely to expand its House majority in Tuesday’s election.

Democrats have long been losing their hold on districts such as this one, largely white and rural, where incomes lag the national average and college graduates are relatively sparse. This year, Republicans may take more.

Seven of the 39 House races rated most competitive by the nonpartisan Cook Political Report are in districts with large numbers of white, working-class voters; six of those districts are held by Democrats. In addition, one other such Democratic district is seen as likely to flip Republican.



Dale Lundquist, center, a 69-year-old excavation contractor, meets regularly with his friends for breakfast at the Birchwood Café in Aitkin., Minn. ‘You take a look at all the giveaway programs the Democrats have. Nobody wants to work anymore,’ the former Democrat said.