Gene Rechtzigel, a farmer from Newport.
That's a bigger GOP field than usual. In a typical year, the Republican search for a 4th District candidate resembles the St. Paul Winter Carnival medallion hunt: They leave no stone or ice chunk unturned to find one.
What makes them think they can win this year? In two words, Scott Brown.
The little-known Republican stunned the political world in January by winning Sen. Edward Kennedy's seat in Massachusetts, one of the most Democratic states in the nation. His victory inspired GOP underdogs everywhere.
"If there is a year where the Republican can win the 4th, this is it. It would take a Scott Brown election," conservative political analyst David Strom said last week.
Fourth District Republican Chairwoman Beverly Aplikowski said seven people approached her about running for the seat, which represents all of Ramsey County and parts of Dakota and Washington counties, and she senses far more energy and excitement about this year's election than she has in years.
One reason is that congressional Democrats are in hot water. Political handicapper Charlie Cook told the National Journal last week it was "very hard to come up with a scenario where Democrats don't lose the House."
But even when the party in power is swept out by a big wave, "it is very uncommon for established incumbents (such as McCollum) to suffer," said congressional scholar Steve Smith, director of the Weidenbaum Center on the Economy, Government and Public Policy at Washington University in St. Louis.
But a challenger who runs a strong campaign and loses this year could use it as a steppingstone to victory in 2012, when new district lines could give a Republican a better shot, Smith said.
Three candidates who attended a GOP candidate forum Thursday night in St. Paul acknowledged they face an uphill battle but contended the political environment is right for them to win this year.
Voters are angry about the Democratic health care bill and extravagant federal spending and want real change, they said.
Blum, 29, who recently resigned as an ice rink manager's assistant and hockey announcer to campaign full time, said the "tea party atmosphere" that is sweeping the nation would help him win.
"I'm a firm believer in the tea party. It's going to thrive," he predicted.
Calling himself "your average Joe," Blum is a University of Minnesota graduate with a bachelor's degree in political science. He has been active in Republican politics since college.
He said he first started thinking about running after attending McCollum's town hall meeting on health care last summer. He was incensed by what he considered her refusal to answer tough questions.
"I thought it was time to step up," he said.
He's also angered by what he believes is the Democrats' rapid expansion of government.
"We can't afford the bailouts and stimulus packages. We need to give money back to taxpayers and get the economy rolling again," he said.
Collett, 53, has a more developed plan for winning. No Republican candidate has spent more than $250,000 to defeat McCollum, she said, and she thinks it will take at least $1 million and an "army of volunteers" to win. She's confident she can raise that sum from a nationwide network of contacts.
After money and volunteers, her strategy calls for one more ingredient: "Give me three debates with Betty," she said.
Collett, who holds bachelor's and law degrees from the University of Oklahoma, said she has been advising state and congressional policymakers across the nation for more than 20 years.
She started thinking about running in December when "I saw so many good students unable to find jobs," she said. The government bailouts of the automakers and Wall Street "made me mad," she said, and the Democratic health care plan to "nationalize one-sixth of the economy" and turn private medical records over to the government "infuriated me." Meanwhile, she added, McCollum was "completely indifferent" to her concerns.
Summing up her views, she said, "I believe in returning to fiscal sanity, job creation and limited government."
Lee, 60, said he decided to run last summer because he was concerned about Congress' "uncontrolled spending" and the debt it is heaping on his children and grandchild.
With 35 years of business experience, Lee said, he knows what it takes to expand the economy. He'd start by cutting federal taxes and reducing tax burdens.
A Navy Vietnam veteran and Cardinal Stritch University graduate, he managed manufacturing plants before starting his financial-services business. He has been active in Republican campaigns since 2002 and already has the endorsement of the White Bear Lake Chamber of Commerce.
Lee thinks he can win, in part, because he sees strong signs of support everywhere he goes, including cheers from the crowd at the St. Paul St. Patrick's Day parade. "People are really energized this year," he said.
Rechtzigel, the fourth Republican candidate, did not attend the forum and declined to be interviewed before the party's April 17 endorsing convention in Vadnais Heights.
Asked if McCollum is expecting a tougher race this year than in previous elections, Will Blauvett, her campaign manager, replied, "We take every campaign seriously."
