And now?

"Chance favors the prepared mind, so it it time to get prepared. Preparation, hard work, and a solid strategy will win the day a year from this November. Time to go get it - starting Monday."  

The long awaited Republican State Central Committee meeting is now history. The votes have been tallied, and there will be new faces at the helm of MN GOP. The "break in" time, the honeymoon period, will last from yesterday afternoon until Monday morning. Then it is going to be hard work, and a big hill to climb. To say we are going to "turn Minnesota red" and then to do it, might not be the same thing.

Am I being a nay sayer? Nope. Not a bit. I am however, being a realist. So based on what I know right now, here is how I see the chances for MN GOP in 2018:

• Governor - We now have three good individuals in the hunt from the Republicans. And a whole bevy of folks from the DFL. In particular, Tim Walz from CD 1. Plus, a good chance that Rick Nolan will jump in from CD 8. More are expected to join from both parties which should make this a very crowded, yet interesting race. My take? After eight years of Dayton, Minnesota is ready for a change. More on this soon.
• Amy's Seat - Klobuchar is up for re-election in 2018. As crowded as the race will be for Governor, you could hear a pin drop from the Republicans. Who will challenge Amy this time around? Unknown at this time. Last time she was up for re-election, the Republicans offered a tepid challenge, and ended up getting smoked. Hello? Anyone out there?
• CD 1 - With the exit of Walz, this SHOULD be an easy pick up for the Republicans. Why? It is the most Republican district in the state. How this has been in Walz's hands for so long is a mystery to many. 
• CD 8 - Stewart Mills barely lost this district to Nolan last time. With Nolan leaving, the Republicans should be able to pick this seat up. The color in this district has been changing from purple to a light red. With the right candidate and campaign, the Republicans have the opportunity to make this district even redder.
• CD 2, CD 3, CD 6 - Should be safe. Unless something really bad happens in the Trump Administration, these seats should be fine. That being said, over confidence and complacency have lost many "safe" seats in the past.
• Minnesota House - A lot depends on how this session ends. Right now, I think the House Republicans are in the driver's seat. That being said, there is a whole lot of grumbling going on by many of the party faithful with the "largess" issue. Many of us were looking for more "starving the beast", than we have seen so far. In fact, the beast has grown fatter. Even with that, my bet is the Republicans hold the House.
• Minnesota Senate -  This razor thin majority could switch in a heartbeat in 2020. Will the Republicans hold? Maybe - however, I think the odds are 50-50 at best.

It is now "go time". Or as many call it, the "silly season". This coming election for Governor will be one of the most important in recent history. Why? If we can't get a Governor who will work with state Republicans to really fix the size of our state government, to fix our confiscatory tax system, people and money will continue to hemorrhage out of the state. Our loses will continue to be Wisconsin's and South Dakota's gain.

One final thing. We need to remember who the enemy is. It is not other Republicans. We are all on the same team. We need to coalesce and get ready for 2018. And it is not the Democrats. They are the opposition. They are still Americans. The enemies are the regimes in North Korea, Iran, and Syria. The enemies are the Islamic Terrorists who want to kill us all for no reason. 

Onward and upward. Chance favors the prepared mind, so it it time to get prepared. Preparation, hard work, and a solid strategy will win the day a year from this November. Time to go get it - starting Monday.