The DFL-controlled Senate’s bill faced unanimous Republican opposition as well as three DFL defectors, but prevailed in a 35-28 vote.

During the fall campaign season, the Republican Party of Minnesota sent out mailings in Senate District 4 accusing Kent Eken of voting to raise the “granny tax.”

Business-backed PACs continued their fundraising push in the late summer as the focus shifted from contested primaries to November's general election. Most of their spending was dedicated to supporting first-term Republican incumbents in swing districts.

The Minnesota Chamber of Commerce has been flummoxed in recent legislative sessions not so much by their usual sparring partners in the Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party but by a new coterie of conservative Republicans.

The Coalition of Minnesota Businesses has launched a statewide TV ad buy. The group's ads in support of the Republican Legislature's budget proposal contrast current ad campaigns by unions and liberal groups supporting Gov. Dayton's budget proposal.

The conservative advocacy group Minnesota Majority is buying radio advertisements and launching a website focused on the state budget debate. Other advocacy groups on the right and left, however, aren't spending their cash on media until progress is made between Republicans and DFLers in budget negotiations.