The wounds had started to heal by the time Minnesota Republicans faced each other at an annual activist gathering in Blaine over the weekend. Many Republicans had already come to terms with the drubbing that took place on Nov. 6, when both Republican legislative majorities and two GOP-led constitutional amendments were rejected by voters.

Matt Entenza and his wife, Lois Quam, aren’t exactly the first names that pop up when Minnesota politicos talk about heavy-hitter political donors.

Who wants to run the Republican Party of Minnesota? That’s the question that has been generating a steady stream of rumors and trial balloons since state party Chairman Tony Sutton suddenly resigned earlier this month.

In the five days since Tony Sutton resigned as chair of the Republican Party of Minnesota, many names have been floated as potential replacements. But only one potential challenger -- GOP activist Sue Jeffers -- has stated that they're seriously considering seeking the post. Many others have ruled out a run for the cash-strapped party's top post.

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.

Hennepin County Commissioner Jeff Johnson toppled 2010 GOP gubernatorial nominee Tom Emmer on the first ballot to win election as Republican National Committeeman.

The House Republican Caucus has hired a raft of new committee administrators who will try to bring order to the chaos of the legislative process as the new majority takes office. Their ranks include veteran caucus staffers as well as political refugees from the administration of outgoing GOP Gov. Tim Pawlenty.

Tom Emmer may be the endorsed candidate for the historically business-friendly Minnesota GOP, but observers say Emmer has work to do if he means to win the broad support of the state’s business community.

The Minnesota DFL and Republican conventions have just finished up on consecutive weekends, and together they have a lot to tell us about the state of democratic politics today.

If you're going by the attack spin of the GOP gubernatorial endorsement fight, delegates to this weekend's state Republican convention in Minneapolis will choose between a) an introverted state representative who made a last-minute campaign error last week by drawing attention to his opponent's 30-year-old DWI record; and b) a sometimes reckless legislator who casts himself as a political outsider, yet picked the "ultimate insider" to be his running mate.