MANKATO — The Republican Party’s ticket of endorsed statewide candidates will be in Mankato Wednesday on the first of a three-day tour that will cover a lot of ground.

State Rep. Tom Emmer (governor), Annette Meeks (lieutenant governor), Chris Barden (attorney general), Pat Anderson (auditor) and Dan Severson (secretary of state) are all scheduled to be on the bus for the “Statewide Freedom and Prosperity” Tour.

The event kicks off in Red Wing Wednesday morning and, with the exception of the far southwestern and northeastern parts of Minnesota, will cover much of the state by the time it reaches Minnetonka early Friday night. Among the 20 stops are Rochester, Willmar, Moorhead, Grand Rapids and St. Cloud.

The Mankato stop is 4:30 p.m. Wednesday at the Happy Chef on Highway 169 on the north edge of town.

Hitting the streets

Several legislative candidates have begun the door-knocking phase of the campaign, and others are on the verge of starting the marathon of neighborhood-walking and literature-leaving.

“I’m deeply into the door-knocking,” said Rep. Terry Morrow, a St. Peter Democrat who gets assistance from his two daughters — who cover one side of the street while Dad does the other.

The message of his literature and any conversations with folks who happen to be at home?

Morrow said he thanks people for the opportunity to represent them at the Capitol, provides an update on work he’s done for the district and seeks ideas and input from constituents.

Rebecca Peichel, his Republican opponent, is making her first foray into door-knocking but said she’s hitting it hard — virtually every evening.

“It’s going well,” said Peichel, who lives on her parents’ Nicollet County farm on the county’s far west side. “We’ve gotten a friendly Minnesota welcome everywhere we’ve been, and people seem very receptive to our message.”

That message focuses on the need to reprioritize state government and the importance of boosting the rural economy by reducing tax and regulatory burdens on business.

Morrow and Peichel were each planning to kick off the District 23A parade season this weekend at Nicollet’s Friendship Days.

Questions & canvases

Across the Minnesota River, state Rep. Kathy Brynaert has done some informal door-knocking but expects to start her full-scale canvassing effort next week with the arrival of her first piece of campaign literature.

Brynaert, DFL-Mankato, said this portion of a campaign season is dedicated in part to the rain of questionnaires candidates for the Legislature are receiving. Interest groups, some of whom do in-person screening as well, try to nail candidates down on key issues and often use the questionnaires in advising members of their organization on which candidate to support at the ballot box.

Some of the groups include the Farm Bureau, Education Minnesota, the AFL-CIO, Clean Water Action, the Chamber of Commerce, and both sides of the abortion issue.

Brynaert, who has bachelor and master’s degrees in philosophy, said she sometimes balks when organizations insist on yes/no answers to complex issues. Her response is to write a cover letter dealing with the nuances of those types of issues.

“You can’t be a student of philosophy and just want to say ‘Yes’ or ‘No,’” Brynaert joked.

Brynaert’s opponent, Republican Dave Kruse of Mankato, said he’s been hitting the doors for about six weeks. A couple of weeks back, Kruse was spotted at the downtown Mankato Arby’s — replenishing calories before returning to the streets.

“You kind of realize how big the city is,” Kruse said, adding that people typically have been receptive and appreciate seeing a candidate actively seeking contact with District 23B’s residents.

At this point, the first-time candidate said he’s introducing himself, providing contact information and asking people to share ideas and concerns.

Ins and outs

Despite the indications of anti-incumbent sentiments at the national level, Morrow and Brynaert said they haven’t seen any of it locally — at least not yet.

“Ask me after I’ve been out door-knocking about six weeks,” Brynaert said.

Morrow said he’s heard concern about the state budget but not animosity aimed at incumbent lawmakers.

“It’s actually gone fairly well,” he said. “A lot of people have said thanks for the hard work.”

But Kruse said he’s had several people show more interest in him once they know he’s a challenger.

“They tell me they’re going to look into me more because I’m not in office now and they want a change,” Kruse said.

At the same time, people are still sorting out who’s responsible — the legislature versus Congress — for various issues.

“I’ve had a few people ask me, ‘Hey, can we do something about the oil spill?’” Kruse said.