Of those who show up at the polls, swing voters, not the party base, determine elections in our new political system.
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The Capitol Note: Frantic House race spawns legal challenges, more allegations of violence
The legal challenges and allegations in the race between Rep. Phyllis Kahn and her primary challenger, Mohamud Noor, have reached new heights in the feverish race for Minneapolis' House District 60B.
Read More »Former Gov. Quie bucks party, endorses Abeler and Seifert
Former Republican Gov. Al Quie, in a very Al Quie move, has now thrown his weight between two candidates running primary elections against the GOP's endorsed candidates in statewide races.
Read More »The Capitol Note: Both parties expect bump from Obama visit
1) Democrats and Republicans are preparing for President Barack Obama’s visit to Minnesota on Thursday, Minnesota Public Radio reports. Obama, who will arrive on Thursday, will convene ...
Read More »Judicial retention bill faces uncertain future
The 2014 legislative session could set the stage for a high-profile battle over how Minnesota picks its judges. A broad coalition is renewing a push to pass a ballot initiative that would move the state to a judicial retention election system.
Read More »Elements of 2005 shutdown present in this year’s standoff
Six years ago GOP Gov. Tim Pawlenty and the Legislature deadlocked over a $466 million budget deficit. The DFL-controlled Senate wanted to raise nearly $1 billion by increasing income taxes on the state’s wealthiest residents. Pawlenty dismissed the move as “profoundly stupid.”
Read More »House passes GOP caucus map, but history says courts will ultimately draw the lines
Tempers flared and debates grew heated around the Capitol over the past week as Republicans in the House put their controversial legislative redistricting map on the table. The map carves up a new political landscape that pits 26 incumbents against one another - 20 in the House and six in the Senate - and all but one of the matchups put a DFLer, or two, in peril.
Read More »Teachers union may get schooled
A ferocious pushback by Education Minnesota cast the 70,000-member statewide teacher's union in the role of session bogeyman. The union and its head, Tom Dooher, fought the bill to a standstill in the end; it lost by a tight 68-65 margin in the House, and did not reach the floor in the Senate.
Read More »Horner ponders his future
Tom Horner took a bigger risk than most when he embarked on his run for governor of Minnesota. The former Republican pundit and strategist turned Independence Party candidate alienated many of his old political allies when he switched party affiliation to challenge to GOP candidate Tom Emmer and DFLer Mark Dayton.
Read More »Horner: GOP ban shows party polarization
Tom Horner alienated many of his old political allies in the Republican Party when he switched to the Independence Party to run for the governor's office. His estrangement from the Republican Party was made even clearer over the weekend, when GOP delegates voted for a ban on 18 high-profile Republicans who supported him. Horner says move reflects a party that is polarized and extreme.
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