Longtime conservative stalwart Allen Quist put weeks of rumors to rest early Thursday morning at the Country Kitchen in Winona, where he officially launched his second run for Minnesota’s 1st Congressional District.

As some Minnesota State Fair-goers stood in line for a Pronto Pup last year, an advertisement came across their smartphones accusing then-DFL 6th Congressional District candidate Tarryl Clark of voting to raise taxes on fried foods.

Supporting Michele Bachmann’s presidential bid wasn’t necessarily an easy decision for David FitzSimmons. While the three-term Republican congresswoman would seem a natural choice for FitzSimmons, who chairs the Republican Party in her home 6th District, he was squarely in the Ron Paul camp during the 2008 election and worked for his campaign.

In 2010, Chip Cravaack pulled off one of the most stunning political upsets in the country by defeating U.S. Rep. Jim Oberstar. The 18-term DFL incumbent chaired the powerful Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure and had never won re-election by less than 29 percentage points.

Nationally, the social networking site was the catalyst for the recent Anthony Weiner scandal and his ultimate resignation, after the seven-term Democratic congressman from New York accidentally tweeted a lewd image of himself he had meant to send as a direct message to a woman.

Republican leaders seemed to come out of the negotiating room after the holiday weekend with a renewed sense of vigor. Senate Majority Leader Amy Koch and House Speaker Kurt Zellers addressed reporters after an hourlong budget meeting on Tuesday — the first since talks collapsed and government went into shutdown mode — and repeated their caucuses’ “no new taxes” declaration.

When Republicans from around the state flocked to the Ramada Mall of America last Saturday, there appeared to be little question who would win the race to replace Brian Sullivan as Minnesota's man on the Republican National Committee.

Mark Dayton entered the Capitol in January owing its inhabitants very little. The DFL governor spent $3.9 million of his own fortune to win the primary and the narrow election in November, and for the most part conducted his campaign with little help from special interest groups or Democratic legislators.

Political strategist Ben Golnik is dropping his bid to become the next Republican National Committee member, citing a young family and growing new job that kept him from running a "hands on campaign."

GOP political operatives Gregg Peppin and Ben Golnik are forming a strategic partnership to provide grass-roots advocacy and other services at the state Capitol.