Democrats in Minnesota’s 6th District have endorsed Tarryl Clark to take on Republican Representative Michele Bachmann. Clark beat Dr. Maureen Reed, a former Independence Party lieutenant governor candidate, on the first ballot at a party convention in Blaine on Saturday. Clark is a two-term state senator who vowed to retire Bachmann, a conservative icon. She says Bachmann is more focused on her national profile than her constituents.

Reed says she will face Clark again in the August primary. She says she has a better shot at beating Bachmann as an outsider to politics. Bachmann is seeking a third term. The 6th is Minnesota’s most conservative congressional district, covering northern Twin Cities suburbs and rural areas around St. Cloud and Buffalo.