During one of his first public appearances as governor-elect, Democrat Tim Walz said Minnesotans can expect to see a gas-tax increase in his first budget proposal due at the beginning of the year. Speaking to reporters during a visit to his transition office in the Minnesota State Capitol Thursday, Walz…
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The Democratic-Farmer-Labor (DFL) Party gathered for its “Midnight Madness” event Monday night in an election-eve tradition where the entire slate of Democratic candidates cheered on Keith Ellison is his bid for attorney general. DFL Chairman Ken Martin delivered an impassioned speech when introducing Ellison to the stage, saying the Democratic…
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Democrat Tim Walz defeated Republican Jeff Johnson to become the next governor of Minnesota and extend the Democratic-Farmor-Labor (DFL) Party’s control of the governor’s mansion. Walz will succeed Gov. Mark Dayton (D-MN), who has been governor of the state since 2011 but chose not to seek reelection after struggling with…
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Minnesota’s gubernatorial candidates made their final appeal to voters Friday night, and Republican Jeff Johnson pulled no punches during the hour-long debate. Right off the bat, Johnson went after Democrat Tim Walz for “never” answering questions, criticizing Walz for refusing to clarify his support for making Minnesota a “sanctuary state.”…
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The midterm elections are now just two days away, and the results from a final round of polling in Minnesota are in. The polls, however, have a substantial margin of error of +/- 5.3 percent, making the KSTP and Survey USA polling of the Minnesota attorney general race essentially inconclusive.…
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Minnesota is already home to several competitive congressional races, but its Seventh District just got added to the list. Minnesota’s Seventh Congressional District has been represented by Blue-Dog Democrat Rep. Collin Peterson (D-MN-07) for nearly thirty years, but some in the rural district are looking for a fresh voice as…
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After much anticipation, The Star Tribune ultimately withheld an endorsement in the race for Minnesota’s attorney general after finding both candidates “too partisan” to occupy the office. “It’s deeply frustrating to withhold an endorsement in a statewide race that’s this critical,” The Star Tribune Editorial Board wrote in an article…
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Democrat Angie Craig recently refused to state whether she supports implementing a $15 federal minimum wage, calling the question “unfair.” During a debate hosted by the Dakota County Regional Chamber of Commerce, the moderator asked the candidates to simply state “yes” or “no” in response to the question. “No,” incumbent…
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Sen. Tina Smith (D-MN) seemed to suggest during Thursday night’s debate that she would support President Donald Trump’s proposed border wall, but the Minnesota Republican Party called her comments insincere. Smith faced off against Republican challenger Karin Housley at Hamline University in St. Paul for the second-to-last debate of the…
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Most Democratic-Farmer-Labor (DFL) Party candidates have avoided campaigning with Keith Ellison ever since he was accused of domestic abuse, but Sen. Tina Smith (D-MN) praised him as a “terrific” candidate on Thursday. “Everybody, Keith Ellison is going to make a terrific attorney general,” Smith said during one of the first…
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Minnesota’s Democratic-Farmer-Labor (DFL) Party will be kicking of its 28-stop bus tour Thursday, but Rep. Keith Ellison (D-MN-05) is conspicuously absent from the list of scheduled speakers. In fact, Ellison is just one of two DFL candidates not scheduled for any stops on the tour. The only other candidate not…
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The Star Tribune, Minnesota’s leading news source, has only endorsed one Republican for governor during the state’s last eight gubernatorial elections. Apart from its 1994 endorsement of Republican Arne Carlson, The Star Tribune has otherwise supported six Democratic-Farmer-Labor (DFL) Party candidates, and one Independence Party candidate since 1990. In order,…
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A group of prominent Minnesota Republicans visited a local ICE detention center to vocalize their support for the country’s federal immigration laws, but the real star of the show was the local sheriff in attendance. Republican gubernatorial candidate Jeff Johnson, along with Republican attorney general candidate Doug Wardlow and Congressional…
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Democratic gubernatorial candidate Tim Walz spent Wednesday clarifying his stance on a $15 minimum wage hike, but in doing so seemed to only complicate his position on the issue. Speaking alongside a cohort of Minnesota mayors, Walz called his previous support of a statewide $15 minimum wage “aspirational” in response…
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A new poll shows that Republican Karin Housley is within three points of incumbent Sen. Tina Smith (D-MN) who is running in her first election since replacing Al Franken. According to Change Research, 43 percent of likely voters support Housley in the special election while 46 percent said they support…
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Minnesota was recently ranked as the least tax-friendly state in the country, beating out both California and New York for the top spot on the list. According to Kiplinger, a D.C.-based financial outlet, Minnesota’s “income tax rate of 5.35 percent” earned it the title of “least tax-friendly” state on the…
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With Election Day closing in, Republican Jeff Johnson is enlisting Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) to hit the campaign trail for him in his bid for Minnesota governor. Rubio enjoys relative popularity among Minnesota voters and won the state Republican caucus in his 2016 presidential campaign, making him a safe choice…
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With election day on the horizon, Minnesota’s gubernatorial candidates came out swinging during a Tuesday night “Greater Minnesota Debate” in Willmar to discuss the issues affecting rural Minnesotans, such as agricultural regulations and refugee resettlement. Republican Jeff Johnson started the debate by criticizing opponent Rep. Tim Walz (D-MN-01) for voting…
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Democratic gubernatorial candidate Tim Walz is doubling down on his plan to transform Minnesota into a “sanctuary state,” saying his proposal would actually make the state “safer.” In his first ad of the campaign, Republican candidate Jeff Johnson attacked Walz for his progressive stance on immigration, which would make Minnesota…
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President Barack Obama endorsed a slate of candidates for Minnesota’s statewide elections Monday, but some high-profile Democrats were conspicuously absent from his list. Obama’s list of endorsements spanned 22 states and more than 100 candidates running for state and federal office, including gubernatorial candidates, their running mates, attorney generals, and…
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Rep. Keith Ellison (D-MN-03) has requested a House Ethics Committee investigation into the domestic-abuse allegations made against him by ex-girlfriend Karen Monahan. In August, Monahan accused the congressman of forcibly dragging her from a bed, and continues to slowly release text messages and medical records supporting her claims. Ellison has…
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Minnesota gubernatorial candidates Tim Walz and Jeff Johnson released their first ads of the campaign Tuesday after recovering from an expensive primary. Minnesota’s ad wars have been unusually toxic during this election cycle, particularly in Minnesota’s Third and Eighth Congressional Districts where the Republican-backed Congressional Leadership Fund is targeting Democratic…
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Minnesota gubernatorial candidates Tim Walz and Jeff Johnson have very different visions on immigration policy for the state, but poll after poll shows that Minnesotans tend to agree with the Republican on the issue. Walz, on the one hand, supports sanctuary-state policies and wants to limit local authorities from cooperating…
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Minnesota Democrat gubernatorial nominee Rep. Tim Walz (D-MN) is walking back a promise to raise the gas tax in the state after a new poll shows that a majority of Minnesotans disagree with the proposal. According to a recent KSTP and Survey USA poll of likely Minnesota voters, 52 percent…
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Minnesota gubernatorial candidates Jeff Johnson and Tim Walz squared off in a debate Wednesday morning at the TwinWest Chamber of Commerce to discuss workforce issues. The candidates remained civil throughout the discussion, but things grew noticeably heated when Minnesota’s achievement gap was mentioned, with the state consistently ranking among the…
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With early voting set to begin Friday, Republican gubernatorial candidate Jeff Johnson is calling on Democrat Tim Walz to clarify his stance on implementing a single-payer health care system in Minnesota. In a Tuesday press release, Johnson’s campaign states that while several media outlets have reported that Walz supports a…
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A new poll shows Democrat Tim Walz leading Republican Jeff Johnson in Minnesota’s gubernatorial race, though both candidates are trying to win over a large percentage of undecided voters. According to a new MPR News and Star Tribune poll, 45 percent of likely voters favor Walz, while 36 percent said…
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Two new polls released this week show that Democrat Tim Walz has a slight edge over Republican Jeff Johnson in the race for Minnesota’s governor. The first poll, conducted by KSTP and Survey USA, reveals that 47 percent of likely voters back Walz, while 40 percent support Johnson, and 10…
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Minnesota’s political candidates took a brief pause from the campaign trail Tuesday morning to commemorate the seventeenth anniversary of 9/11. “Today, we both mourn and remember the tragedy of September 11. We’re reminded of those who gave everything serving and sacrificing for others. 17 years later, we remember those highest…
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A new poll shows that Minnesota Democrats are fighting to hang on to the state’s Eighth Congressional District, which has leaned blue for nearly 70 years. The new poll comes out of The New York Times’ partnership with Siena College, which has a goal of polling “dozens of the most…
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Mike Lindell, founder and CEO of MyPillow, first met President Donald Trump the summer before the 2016 election. “When I met him, I go: ‘Wow, there’s nobody on this planet I’d rather have be my president than Donald Trump,’” he told The Minnesota Sun. Lindell was launched into the political…
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Democratic gubernatorial candidate Tim Walz wants to provide 2 years of tuition-free college to Minnesota students if elected to become the state’s next governor. According to his campaign website, Walz wants to give “every Minnesotan a shot at higher education,” saying his administration would offer “2 years” of “tuition-free education…
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A new attack produced by Alliance for a Better Minnesota (ABM) falsely claims that Republican gubernatorial candidate Jeff Johnson’s would allow “insurance companies” to “deny coverage for those with pre-existing conditions.” “300,000 Minnesotans will lose their health insurance under Jeff Johnson, and insurance companies could deny coverage for those with…
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Gubernatorial candidates Rep. Tim Walz (D-MN-01) and Republican Hennepin County Commissioner Jeff Johnson squared off at the Minnesota State Fair Friday in their most heated debate yet. In front of a large crowd at the St. Paul fairgrounds, the two typically cordial candidates hurled an atypical number of accusations at…
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A new “municipal ID” program will effectively transform Minneapolis into a sanctuary city as early as 2019 in order to “further advance the city’s racial equity goals.” According to the city’s website, the “municipal identification card” will be available to all “residents ages 14 and up” regardless of “immigration status,…
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In a heated first debate, incumbent Rep. Erik Paulsen (R-MN-03) squared off against his Democratic challenger Dean Phillips in their battle for Minnesota’s Third Congressional District. Although Paulsen has safely held the seat since 2009, Minnesota’s Democractic-Farmer-Labor (DFL) Party is hopeful that their candidate can pull off an upset, since…
Read MoreEach year, the Minnesota State Fair looks more and more like a political convention, but this year fair-goers seem to have had enough of the politicization of the Great Minnesota Get-Together. Both major parties, the Democratic-Farmer-Labor (DFL) Party and the state GOP, have booths at the fair with their respective…
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The latest poll out of Suffolk University shows that Republican gubernatorial candidate Jeff Johnson (pictured, left) trails his opponent Rep. Tim Walz (pictured, right) by only five points in the race for Minnesota’ governorship. The poll, conducted between August 17 and August 20, surveyed 500 Minnesotans on their opinions of…
Read MoreIn a heated first debate, incumbent Rep. Erik Paulsen squared off against his Democratic challenger Dean Phillips in their battle for Minnesota’s Third Congressional District. Although Paulsen has safely held the seat since 2009, Minnesota’s Democractic-Farmer-Labor (DFL) Party is hopeful that their candidate can pull off an upset, since the…
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It’s been just one week since Rep. Tim Walz and Hennepin County Commissioner Jeff Johnson won their respective primaries, but the two are already hitting the debate circuit in their race for Minnesota’s governor seat. On Friday, the two went head-to-head in front of a live audience in Nisswa, Minn.,…
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After a shocking upset over former Gov. Tim Pawlenty, Republican nominee Jeff Johnson is set to face off against Rep. Tim Walz in the Minnesota gubernatorial contest. Pawlenty, the last Republican to occupy the Governor’s mansion, failed to secure the nomination from the state party, but vastly outspent the Hennepin…
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