Jeff Hilger describes himself as first and foremost a horse guy. He owns a sprawling farm in Stillwater where he breeds thoroughbreds. He has also worked in the corporate world. One thing Hilger’s a bit low on is political experience.

On a 59 to 55 vote, delegates at the Republican Party State Central Committee Saturday approved a 2-year party ban on 18 prominent Republicans who publicly supported Horner in the election. The vote stops the Republicans from being delegates or attending the Republican National Convention.

A slate of prominent Minnesota Democrats gathered at a private home Tuesday evening to appeal to DFLers who are thinking about voting for Independence Party gubernatorial candidate Tom Horner in November instead of DFL nominee Mark Dayton. The event, hosted by top-drawer DFLers like House Speaker Margaret Anderson Kelliher, Minneapolis Mayor R.T. Rybak and former House Minority Leader Matt Entenza - all of them one-time 2010 candidates for governor themselves - was billed as question-and-answer session in a mass email sent out to Democrats.

At a Catholic Charities gathering last fall, Tom Horner and Stephen Imholte began chatting about the looming 2010 governor's race. They knew each other casually from years spent working on Republican campaigns and causes. But as they talked, it also became clear that they shared a growing frustration with the increasingly rightward tilt of the GOP in recent years. Both believed that there was an opening in 2010 for a centrist candidate to exploit the polarization of the two dominant political parties and the resulting gridlock at the Capitol.

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 poll released last Monday by Decision Resources Ltd. contained a lot of troubling findings for Republicans. Most notably, the survey found that all three credible DFL candidates would soundly beat state Rep. Tom Emmer, R-Delano, the GOP’s endorsed candidate.

Tom Horner, a longtime Republican, is seeking the Independence Party's endorsement for governor. He's calling for candidates to rise above partisanship in debating state budget deficit solutions.

Gov. Tim Pawlenty's consistent opposition to a new federal requirement that Americans purchase health insurance could bolster his national political ambitions, suggests a recent post on the National Journal's Hotline blog. Such mandates have become a touchstone issue since the passage of the national health care package, with Republicans across the country arguing that they're unconstitutional.

One of the most intriguing aspects of AFSCME's endorsement of DFLer Mark Dayton for governor is how it went down.

Minnesota Republicans that worked with Ted Kennedy recall being able to work with the liberal senator on a raft of issues.