The 2008 election is now officially under way. Thousands of Minnesotans took the bold step of putting their names, reputations and egos on the line to become candidates for state, federal, judicial and local offices during the filing period that ended Tuesday.

Most will lose, either in the primary election Sept. 9 or in the general election Nov. 4. Some will put in several thousand hours of work on the campaign only to have their neighbors and fellow citizens send them to a very public defeat.

A total of 320 candidates filed for 134 state House seats, up from 286 two years ago.

And the choices in the U.S. Senate race are nearly endless. Don’t like either Republican Sen. Norm Coleman or Democratic candidate Al Franken? Don’t worry, there are 16 others who want to be Minnesota’s next senator.

The last candidate

Although area voters will still find judges, soil and water conservation officers and city council members running unopposed, there will be options on their ballot for every congressional and legislative race. Mike Bidwell guaranteed that when he filed this week to run against Rep. Terry Morrow, DFL-St. Peter, the last south-central Minnesota lawmaker to have an opponent.

Bidwell, a North Mankato Republican, was unavailable for comment Monday and Tuesday and conceded he’s still getting his campaign organized. But here’s a bit about him for voters in Nicollet County and southern Sibley County:

A 1986 graduate of Le Sueur High School, Bidwell spent two years at Minnesota State University before graduating from Gustavus Adolphus College with an English degree.

He’s been a car salesman at Lager’s Chrysler World for more than 15 years. Bidwell said his campaign will focus on better education, including eliminating the disparity in funding between metro and outstate schools, “responsible use of the environment,” fiscal accountability, and prioritizing spending rather than raising taxes to fund new projects.

Day trailing in money

State Sen. Dick Day of Owatonna has his hands full in trying to keep up with endorsed candidate Brian Davis of Rochester in the Republican primary campaign for the 2nd Congressional District. Not only does Davis have exclusive access to the Republican Party’s detailed list of GOP-leaning voters, he’s got a big advantage in money.

In the past three months, the Mayo physician has raised $290,000 and made loans and personal contributions to his campaign of $102,000. As of June 30, he had more than $376,000 in cash on hand (along with nearly $144,000 in campaign debt).

Day had a bit more than $10,000 in contributions in the past three months and about $45,000 in cash, along with $23,000 in debts.

Looking ahead to the general election campaign, Rep. Tim Walz, a Democrat from Mankato, raised nearly $435,000 in the second quarter of the year and has $1.2 million in reserves with no debts owed by the campaign.