Editing Rod Grams (section)

==Post-Senate career==
After his 2000 reelection defeat, Grams went back into private business and in 2004 became the owner of three radio stations in [[Little Falls, Minnesota]].<ref>
[http://broadcastingcable.com/article/CA417915.html?display=Business Changing Hands - 5/17/2004 - Broadcasting & Cable<!-- Bot generated title -->] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061126035502/http://broadcastingcable.com/article/CA417915.html?display=Business |date=2006-11-26 }}</ref> He attempted a political comeback in [[2006 United States Senate election in Minnesota|the 2006 U.S. Senate campaign]]. He sought the GOP nomination for his former Senate seat, facing [[Mark Kennedy (politician)|Mark Kennedy]] and [[Gil Gutknecht]]. After a poor showing early in the endorsement process,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://minnesota.publicradio.org/collections/special/2006/campaign/congress/grams|title=MPR: Campaign 2006: U.S. Congress: 8th District: Rod Grams|publisher=Minnesota.publicradio.org|access-date=2013-10-09}}</ref> Grams dropped his Senate candidacy and ran in the [[2006 United States House elections|2006 U.S. House election]], challenging the incumbent [[Jim Oberstar]] in [[Minnesota's 8th congressional district]]. Oberstar defeated Grams handily.

Grams remained active in politics and interested in running for public office. In 2008, he considered challenging incumbent [[Norm Coleman]] for the Republican U.S. Senate nomination but was too busy in his private life to make a run, saying, "And my wife (Chris) would have killed me if I would have, because of some things that we're doing."<ref name="hometownsource1">{{cite web|url=http://hometownsource.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=6016&Itemid=29|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081019183931/http://hometownsource.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=6016&Itemid=29|url-status=dead|archive-date=2008-10-19|title=from ECM Publishers, Inc.|publisher=Hometown Source|access-date=2013-10-09}}</ref> It also became unclear whether Grams would run as a Republican. In an interview, he expressed disappointment at the perceived failings of the party, going as far as to wonder whether he could still call himself a Republican or vote for Republican candidates.<ref name="hometownsource1"/>

Grams considered a 2010 run for governor of Minnesota, saying, "I'm so damn unhappy with the Republicans right now ... I'm so unhappy with the candidates that we have I could puke. I wanted to get out there and mix it up."<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://mnpublius.com/2008/07/rod-grams-thinking-about-running-for-governor/ |title=Rod Grams Thinking About Running for Governor{{!}} |access-date=2010-03-28 |archive-date=2010-03-28 |archive-url=https://wayback.archive-it.org/all/20100328150104/http://mnpublius.com/2008/07/rod-grams-thinking-about-running-for-governor/ |url-status=live }}</ref> But Grams endorsed Republican [[Tom Emmer]] in the 2010 campaign for governor.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://minnesota.publicradio.org/collections/special/columns/polinaut/archive/2010/02/grams_backs_emm.shtml|title=Grams backs Emmer|publisher=Minnesota.publicradio.org |date=2010-02-01|access-date=2013-10-09}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.fox21online.com/news/grams-endorses-emmer-minnesota-governor |title=News &#124; FOX 21 News, KQDS-DT |publisher=Fox21online.com |access-date=2013-10-09 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131227005358/http://www.fox21online.com/news/grams-endorses-emmer-minnesota-governor |archive-date=2013-12-27 }}</ref> Emmer lost the election to Mark Dayton.