Republican Rep. Michele Bachmann and Democratic challenger Tarryl Clark will share the stage for the first time today in St. Cloud in the race to see who will represent Minnesota’s 6th Congressional District.

That may seem odd with just a week to go until Election Day, but the limited contact between the two, as well as their bare-knuckle, nearly ubiquitous ad war, only serves to heighten the anticipation heading into today’s event, as well as two more debates to follow.

Minnesota’s 6th Congressional District is diverse. It features rural, agricultural edges; vast stretches of exurban areas; an overload of suburbs; and enough urban pockets to raise eyebrows.

Growth-related challenges abound, and this recession — fomented by the bursting housing bubble — didn’t help.

SAINT PAUL, Minn. — Democrat Tarryl Clark is challenging incumbent Michele Bachmann to cut her own pay and stop mailing glossy flyers to constituents at taxpayer expense. She plans to launch a TV ad Thursday to punctuate the point.

“As our country has faced this budget challenge, what has Congressman Bachmann done? She’s expanded her office, her staff, and her expenses at taxpayer expense,” Sen. Clark told reporters at the State Capitol Wednesday.

Tarryl Clark enlisted the state’s Democratic patriarch when the 6th District congressional candidate campaigned Thursday in Woodbury.

Clark, a Democrat challenging U.S. Rep. Michele Bachmann, was joined by former Vice President Walter Mondale during a campaign stop at Stonecrest Senior Living Center.

The Minnesota Police and Peace Officers Association said this morning that it is endorsing Tarryl Clark in the 6th District Congressional race.

Clark, a state senator,is challenging U.S. Rep. Michele Bachmann in what will be a wild and free-spending campaign.

In the midst of what looks to be a difficult election cycle, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee is adding 11 candidates to a program that mainly looks to capture Republican-held seats.

But, on some level, the newest members of the campaign committee’s Red to Blue program have a more “Blue to Blue” vibe — seven of the candidates are running for open seats now held by Democrats.

Physician Maureen Reed has dropped her Democratic primary bid in Minnesota’s 6th Congressional District, clearing the way for state Sen. Tarryl Clark to challenge Republican Rep. Michele Bachmann this November.

Reed said in a statement Sunday that she had decided “a prolonged primary fight only assists Michele Bachmann. I feel that it is time for the DFL to unify behind one candidate in this race.”