Minnesota Lawyer
1) US Sen. Al Franken has raised more than $3.3 million last quarter compared to more than $1.1 million raised by his main opponent, businessman Mike McFadden, their campaigns reported ahead of the incoming campaign finance reporting deadline.
Franken has raised about $18.4 million for the election, while McFadden has brought in about $4 million, the Star Tribune reports.
2) Hennepin County officials explained to a gathered group of community residents on Thursday that an investigation spawned by Rep. Phyllis Kahn’s campaign attorney hadn’t found a coordinated effort to improperly register voters at a mailbox address.
Brian Rice, who filed the petition in late June, questioned whether the mailbox address was a lawful place for voters to list in their registrations. The officials said it wasn’t, but many of the registrations there came about because of automated government processes. Also at the hearing, Rice backed off claims that Kahn’s opponent, Mohamud Noor, was registering voters at the address to purposefully pad votes.
An additional petition from Rice on a different election issue sits before the state Supreme Court.
3) Minnesota’s tax revenues came in above forecast for the final quarter of the fiscal year, the Associated Press reports.
Revenues in April, May and June came in at $235 million above what officials predicted. Though hardly enough to quash Republican criticisms that state revenues were lagging because of DFL-backed tax increases, Democrats calling for temperance in making predictions about months of substandard state revenues appear vindicated.
COMINGS & GOINGS
- Gubernatorial candidate Kurt Zellers announced on Thursday that he has received the endorsement of 16 House GOP legislators, including 11 current members and five former lawmakers. Among the notable current caucus members endorsing Zellers are two of the most senior members of the House GOP: Rep. Greg Davids, R-Preston, now in his 11th term, and Rep. Mary Liz Holberg, R-Lakeville, who is leaving the House after eight terms. See the full list here.
- Gov. Mark Dayton announced a number of board and council appointments on Thursday, appointing 16 expert and citizen members to the new Task Force on Medical Cannabis Therapeutic Research. That list includes well-known public and Capitol figures, including Dakota County Attorney James Backstrom, Dennis Flaherty, executive director of the Minnesota Police and Peace Officers Association, and Champlin Police Chief David Kolb.
- Endorsed GOP candidate for governor Jeff Johnson introduced his finance committee on Thursday, announcing the team tasked with guiding the campaign’s approach to raising and spending money. Jeff DeYoung of Baker Tilly Virchow Krause, Stephen Imholte of Build Perks and Gregg Peterson of Nascent Capital were tapped as leaders; other noteworthy members include former House Speaker Steve Sviggum and Leslie Rosedahl, head of communications at Lockrige Grindal Nauen and a former Senate staffer.
- McGrann Shea Carnival Straughn & Lamb lobbyist Joe Bagnoli has terminated his registration to advocate for the Minnesota Orchestral Association, taking that group’s current representation down to four lobbyists.
- The Fund for the Public Interest, an offshoot of the progressive U.S. Public Interest Research Group, is hiring for paid environmental campaign staffers to advocate for protection of the Boundary Waters Canoe Area from potential damage related to mining. The job is full-time, with hours from 1:30 p.m. to 10:00 p.m., and comes with a salary range of $400-$600 per week. Apply here.
EDITOR’S NOTE: Beginning Monday, July 14, Politics in Minnesota will discontinue the Capitol Note blog post as a daily feature on our website. The news and announcements features captured in the posts will continue to appear as part of our Weekly Report; learn more about subscribing to the Weekly Report here.
