Chris Barden challenges Lori Swanson for Attorney General post

​R. Christopher Barden, an Republican lawyer from Edina, formally announced his candidacy for Attorney General today.

In a statement posted on the True North blog last night, Barden laid out his platform, which includes a lot of red meat for the GOP base: lock up more criminals, be more business-friendly, and fight federal health care reform.

Attorney General Lori Swanson, who earned the DFL endorsement for a second term at the party convention last weekend, angered conservatives this month when she refused Gov. Tim Pawlenty's request to file a lawsuit against the health care reform bill.

Barden's got an interesting background: He went to Harvard Law School a year behind Barack Obama, but before that, he got his Ph.D. in clinical psychology from the U of M and worked as a licensed psychologist.

As a lawyer, he's made his name challenging psychological theories like recovered memory, multiple personality disorder, and holding therapy.

He's also president of the CAMIE awards, which recognize morally wholesome movies like High School Musical 3: Senior Year. A copy of Barden's resume is online here.