Kari Dziedzic got her first taste of politics as a fifth grader.

The daughter of former longtime city councilman Walt Dziedzic, she has lived in Minneapolis for almost her entire life. On Tuesday, sheâÄôll run to represent the district in which she was born and raised in the state Senate.

Dziedzic will square off against Republican candidate Ben Schwanke to replace Larry Pogemiller, who represented the area for 30 years before he stepped down to become director of the Minnesota Office of Higher Education.  

In December, she won a competitive Senate District 59 primary in a field of four other Democratic-Farmer-Labor candidates. The district includes the University of Minnesota area and stretches from Cedar-Riverside to north Minneapolis.

Politics have always surrounded Dziedzic, who said she is ready for the challenge of holding public office herself.

If she wins, itâÄôll be her first time holding an elected office.

But Dziedzic has worked on political campaigns âÄî ranging from Al HofstedeâÄôs run for mayor while she was a fifth grader, to riding the bus to Washington, D.C. with late U.S. Sen. Paul Wellstone as an assistant after he won his first campaign for office.

Rep. Phyllis Kahn, DFL-Minneapolis, said that she is âÄúvery comfortableâÄù with the thought of Dziedzic as senator.

âÄúSheâÄôs obviously not going to start with the expertise that [Pogemiller] has, but that happens every time there is a change,âÄù said Kahn, who has been in office for 40 years. âÄúSheâÄôs smart and sheâÄôs capable.âÄù

The attraction of politics

After graduating from the University of Minnesota with a degree in mechanical engineering, Dziedzic was set to interview for a job with Frito-Lay but was offered a position to work with the recently-elected Wellstone in Washington D.C.

âÄúI was planning on going out in the real world and making money but D.C. was just a little more exciting,âÄù Dziedzic said.

The time she spent with Wellstone influenced Dziedzic and her view on politics.

After her time on Capitol Hill, she worked on gubernatorial campaigns for Mike Freeman in 1994 and 1998 and for Roger Moe in 2002.

Dziedzic currently works as a policy aide to Hennepin County Commisioner Mark Stenglein, who said that DziedzicâÄôs time at the county will serve her well in Senate.

âÄúThe county is the largest unit of government next to the state, so she certainly understands the bureaucracy of government,âÄù Stenglein said. âÄúThere are certain things you can get done and certain things you canâÄôt and you have to learn to pick your battles early on,âÄù and Dziedzic understands that, he said.

The right connections

The Senate District 59 special election moved rapidly. Candidates had just three days to decide if they wanted to run and roughly a month before the primary to organize and campaign.

Still, the race attracted a slew of candidates with name recognition and high-profile endorsements.

Humphrey School of Public Affairs professor Larry Jacobs, previously said that because of the brief nature of the election, it was âÄúless about candidate personality and more about organization.âÄù

Within two hours of applying for candidacy, DziedzicâÄôs campaign raised $10,000, she said. Two days later, 50 to 80 volunteers were door-knocking and calling constituents.

DziedzicâÄôs campaign eventually raised $36,000 for the primary race, almost doubling the next highest candidateâÄôs total.  

Her family ties helped bring fire and police unions to support her campaign. DziedzicâÄôs father was a Minneapolis police officer for 16 years, and two of her three brothers are Minneapolis fire fighters. Her connections within Hennepin County also attracted support.

âÄúI think in this time of conscientious politics, someone who clearly gets along with a wide range of people is going to be very successful,âÄù Kahn said.

Representing the University

If elected, Dziedzic will enter the Senate at a time when relations between the two major political parties are strained.

Dziedzic said she will approach that conflict from a different perspective.

âÄúYou treat people the way you want to be treated. ItâÄôs listening to [the RepublicansâÄô] ideas too and not just throwing them out,âÄù she said.

Dziedzic said that raising taxes on the wealthiest 1 percent would be her first priority in the Senate, as well as increasing funding for higher education.

Dziedzic said she wants to have close ties with the University of Minnesota through internships, on-campus office hours, and working with student organizations.

Dziedzic is enthusiastic about her potential to serve in the Senate, but acknowledged that there will be a learning curve.

âÄúIâÄôll be in the minority, bottom of the minority actually, so it will take some time,âÄù Dziedzic said.