House Majority Leader John Boehner stopped in Mankato Thursday to talk politics with College Republicans at Minnesota State University and give a boost to the re-election campaign of Congressman Gil Gutknecht.

“Gil’s one of those members who works hard, represents his district and is really a leader in the budget process,” said Boehner, the second most powerful member of the House behind Speaker Dennis Hastert.

Boehner said his stop in Mankato isn’t an indication that national Republican leaders are concerned about Gutknecht’s race against first-time candidate Tim Walz, who appears to be the running the most formidable Democratic challenge to Gutknecht in at least a decade.

Boehner said he was working with other candidates in Iowa and Minnesota.

“While in the neighborhood, why not stop?” Boehner said. “... I think Gil’s running a very good race.”

Gutknecht, a Rochester Republican who is seeking his seventh term in Congress, noted that Boehner is a friend and has campaigned for him in previous campaigns, although that was before he became majority leader.

Despite a growing number of political analysts predicting that the Democrats will pick up the 15 seats they need to take control of the House in the Nov. 7 general election — primarily because of the unpopularity of President Bush, the Iraq war and the scandal-plagued Congress — Boehner said the GOP will retain the majority.

Republicans have cut taxes, reformed pension laws and passed legislation to combat terrorism, Boehner said. He conceded that congressional leaders have some repair work to do on Congress’ reputation.

“There are a lot of things we have to do to restore that trust,” he said.

Still, the Ohio Republican deflected any suggestion that Americans are losing faith in the GOP-controlled House, which has faced a string of scandals in recent years and has seen few of its major initiatives enacted into law in the most recent congressional session.

Recent polls have shown public disapproval of Congress reaching the levels of 1994 when Gutknecht and dozens of other Republicans won seats previously held by Democrats, ending that party’s 40-year run of controlling the House.

But Boehner said he doesn’t see anything unusual in public attitudes toward Congress this year, saying the body has historically been unpopular in polls of Americans.

After Boehner left a short press conference for more campaign events in Minnesota’s 6th Congressional District, Gutknecht said Boehner is expecting the GOP to lose five to six seats in the 435-member House — maintaining its majority. Gutknecht said he agrees with that assessment.

Despite the unpopularity of the current Congress, voters traditionally focus on pocketbook issues before entering the ballot box, Gutknecht said. He believes voters in general and farmers in particular are very pleased with their economic well-being.

“Farmers will vote Republican this year and that will help us across the country,” Gutknecht said.