ST. PAUL -- U.S. Rep. Keith Ellison could create a political free-for-all in the Minneapolis-based 5th Congressional District if he resigns to become the new chairman of the Democratic National Committee.

On Monday, Dec. 5, at least three different people expressed interest in running for the seat should Ellison resign, including his 2016 Republican opponent and two Democratic state lawmakers. Many more could join them due to the unusual nature of the special election a resignation by Ellison would create.

State Sens. Scott Dibble and Patricia Torres Ray, both Minneapolis Democrats, said Monday they might run if Ellison resigns.

“I’m trying hard not to get ahead of Keith. I support Keith,” said Dibble, 51. “Nevertheless … it was important for me to start organizing my thoughts and my actions.”

The Minneapolis-based Star Tribune first reported that Dibble and Torres Ray were considering the seat. Torres Ray did not immediately return a call from the Pioneer Press on Monday afternoon.

Dibble has served in the Minnesota Legislature since 2001 and is the outgoing chair of the Senate’s transportation committee. Torres Ray, 52, has been in the Senate since 2007 and is the outgoing chair of the State and Local Government Committee. She was also an unsuccessful candidate for lieutenant governor in 2010.

Both lawmakers won new four-year terms in the Nov. 8 election but will now be in the minority after Republicans took over the Senate.

Frank Drake, the Republican candidate who got 22 percent of the vote on Nov. 8 to Ellison’s 69 percent, told the Pioneer Press he would run again, too.

“That’s a definite,” said Drake, who called for a potential special election to be held as soon as possible.

Drake, 57, is a lifelong Minneapolis resident and a Realtor. He has not previously held elected office.

Mike Erlandson, a former chairman of the Minnesota Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party who ran unsuccessfully for the 5th District in 2006, said a special election could attract a “larger field of candidates” than usual. That’s because current officeholders wouldn’t have to choose between their existing positions and running for Congress, as they might if the seat were up at a regular November election.

Erlandson said he hasn’t thought about running for the seat himself.

The 5th District includes Minneapolis and the inner ring of suburbs to its north, west and south. It’s the most strongly Democratic district in Minnesota and hasn’t elected a Republican to Congress since 1960.

Ellison has represented the 5th District since 2007. He has attracted some high-profile support for his bid to run the Democratic Party, including from former presidential candidate Sen. Bernie Sanders. But some leading Democrats have criticized the possibility of a part-time chair, leading Ellison this weekend to publicly float the possibility of resigning his seat in Congress should he be chosen as chair.