Moving past 2020 presidential run, Klobuchar enjoying smooth Senate race so far

U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar was strolling the Minnesota State Fair last month and relishing a round of spontaneous thanks and compliments.

As she headed for the crop art, someone shouted about loving the state's Democratic senior senator. And in a rare voice of dissent, another fairgoer offered a blunt rejoinder: He didn't.

The pushback was a momentary blip for Klobuchar on a morning where many enthusiastically greeted her as she tries to win another term in Washington. Less than four years after ending her Democratic presidential primary bid, she faces little competition so far in her 2024 Senate re-election run.

"A lot of times when people run nationally, they can lose touch, or the people think they've lost touch, and I haven't had that happen," Klobuchar said in an interview on the first day of the fair. "Because I think part of it was I was true to myself through the presidential race, and my beliefs I have here are the same I expressed on the debate stage."

Republicans are trying to take back the U.S. Senate from Democrats next year, but Klobuchar appears on track to maintain her record of easily overcoming challengers.

Nationally, Klobuchar's seat isn't viewed as a prime GOP target. Montana Sen. Steve Daines, who chairs the Senate GOP's campaign arm, said, "we'll continue to look at Minnesota," when asked recently about the race on Capitol Hill.

But less than 14 months out from Election Day, only longshot Republicans have filed to run against her in next year's race.

Anna Mathews, the executive director of the Republican Party of Minnesota, said in an email that the state GOP has talked to "numerous" potential Klobuchar challengers.

"We are confident that Minnesota voters will have a clear choice in 2024 between Senator Klobuchar, who has been a rubber stamp for the failed economic policies of Joe Biden, and a qualified and principled candidate who will focus on the best interests of Minnesotans across the state," Mathews said.

After a strong third place finish in the 2020 Democratic New Hampshire primary, Klobuchar ended her presidential run following a weak showing in South Carolina. She quickly endorsed Biden and has remained a strong ally of the president ever since.

Minnesota does have some recent precedent for a former presidential candidate struggling back home.

After Michele Bachmann's failed 2012 GOP presidential run, the then-incumbent House member almost lost re-election to her congressional seat. In a district that Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney won by nearly 15 points, Bachmann beat her Democratic challenger by around 1 percent.

And after Republican Tim Pawlenty's unsuccessful run for president during the 2012 cycle, the former governor wasn't able to make it out of a GOP primary for his old office in 2018.

There's no sign yet that Klobuchar will face similar fallout. Her main Senate campaign account has more than $3 million in cash, according to the most recent campaign finance report. She's actively embracing Biden's 2024 re-election run and the Senate GOP's campaign arm appears to be focusing more on trying to oust senators in more vulnerable seats.

"They're not going to spend the money," Democratic Gov. Tim Walz said. "Senator Klobuchar's highly effective. She's well liked in Minnesota. She's a national voice."

In the years following her unsuccessful White House run, Klobuchar has taken on major issues in Congress.

She touts her work that led to the government being able to negotiate some drug prices for Medicare recipients. She's also shepherded some of her other priorities into law, ranging from aid for military veterans to helping lead legislative responses to both the Jan. 6 insurrection and the failed effort to overturn the 2020 presidential election results.

Klobuchar remains the kind of politician who can pivot from national TV appearances on MSNBC and CNN to stressing her Minnesota-focused approach back home. Her voting rights push failed to become law, but she's emphasized bringing money back to the state through earmarks for local projects.

"I see her in the governing part of the party [that] has strong positions on issues that Democrats care about, and advocates for those positions, but also I think has an appreciation for what's possible rather than what's perfect," said former Missouri Sen. Roy Blunt, a Republican who worked closely with Klobuchar.

Republicans in Minnesota have struggled against Klobuchar for years. During her last race in 2018, Klobuchar won by 24 points. Her victory margin easily outpaced every other statewide Democrat on the ballot. She also won her 2012 race by nearly 35 points and won her first term in 2006 by 20 points.

However, the scrutiny Klobuchar received during the presidential race, including about her harsh treatment of staff in the past, could mean new vulnerabilities during her 2024 Senate run.

"Traditionally and typically, she was always viewed as this Midwest aunt who comes to Sunday dinner with hot dish and is ready to watch the Vikings game with you. She's the aunt everybody loves, and the 2020 presidential election showed us that she wasn't," said Preya Samsundar, a GOP consultant in Minnesota who previously worked for the Republican National Committee. "And whether or not Republicans are able to utilize that in a way that is effective will be kind of the test."

Asked about the treatment of staffers that gained national attention early in her presidential run, Klobuchar said in an interview earlier this month, "I love our staff, I've gone over that ground before in terms of saying 'I'm not perfect.'"

"I have apologized to staff if I made them feel bad," she said. "... I have these high expectations and I hold myself to them, and I hold our staff to them. And I just will continue to do my work, and I have had just some incredible staff that have been with me for years and years."

At the fair, Klobuchar's booth was near a MyPillow display. On the first day, she greeted a man posing with a cutout of the company's CEO Mike Lindell, a Republican who has been among the loudest and most prominent voices pushing election fraud conspiracy theories since the 2020 election.

The fairgoer told Klobuchar he was a huge fan of hers.

As Klobuchar balances her national profile with her Minnesota bona fides, her appeal to some people was readily apparent.

"She's kind of a voice of reason," said Peter Johnson, a 70-year-old from St. Paul who talked to Klobuchar at the fair. "She's got a reputation for trying to work across the aisle from time to time but also holding the line against a lot of the crazy stuff that's going on right now."