Updated
By Jennifer Brooks and Rachel E. Stassen-Berger
Late Friday afternoon, the Minnesota GOP fired a broadside at Democrat Jim Graves, who is running against Republican U.S. Rep. Michele Bachmann, questioning the challenger's business practices, financial disclosures and even whether he really served on the board of the United Way.
"At a time when we already have too many people in Washington who don't believe the rules apply to them, do we need one more" read the 4 p.m. press release.
The Graves campaign did not respond to the specific claims -- including the burning question of whether Graves has, as he claimed, served on the board of the United Way of Central Minnesota.
"These are desperate times for Rep. Bachmann, who for the first time in her congressional career finds herself in a tight race against a successful businessman, Jim Graves. Her laundry list of wild accusations is completely bogus and hardly worthy of a response," said Adam Graves, Graves' campaign manager and son. The release came from the GOP, not Bachmann.
Late Friday afternoon, no one was available to comment at the United Way about Graves' board tenure. Attempts to reach current board members and United Way staff by email have been unsuccessful.
The GOP announcement came the same day political oddsmakers at the Cook Political Report downgraded the Sixth District from a safe Republican seat to a more competitive contest. Graves, a wealthy hotelier, has been running hard on his pro-business and financial credentials.
