I just got off the phone with Representative Marty Seifert (Republican-21A) and he confirmed the information in the post below. House Minorty Leader Seifert also provided me with his quote as he remembered it:
the war in Iraq was the dominant issue [in the election] and the President’s approval rating was so low that it rivaled that of gonorrhea
This was in response to a question asked during the Q&A session of the event about why Republicans did so poorly in last year’s elections. Rep. Seifert also noted that he made these remarks to highlight the fact that November’s elections were ultimately a referendum on the war in Iraq and the popularity of the President, not the DFL’s platform.