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DFL Party mounts Wolf hunt in SD 37
Pam Wolf is not easily deterred. She first ran for the Legislature in 2004, losing a House race to incumbent DFL Rep. Connie Bernardy by 13 percentage points. Two years later, Wolf took on DFL Sen. Don Betzold, losing that time by 9 percentage points.
Former Rep. Alice Johnson to run for state Senate
Johnson will challenge first-term GOP Sen. Pam Wolf, who in 2010 won in the current Senate District 51 with more than 52 percent of the vote.
Several DFL legislators defeated in 2010 are getting back in the saddle
For former DFL Sen. Jim Carlson, it was a matter of a little reflection and time to “lick my wounds” before he knew he was ready to run again for the state Senate. Carlson, who served one term in the chamber, was ousted last fall by Republican newcomer Ted Daley as part of a massive GOP wave that saw the party take control of both the House and Senate for the first time in nearly four decades.
The long, strange year that was: Top MN political stories of 2010
Here's a rundown of the year's top 10 political stories.
GOP’s sweep means high turnover in Capitol partisan staff positions
Kathleen Lonergan has been kicking around the Capitol for 18 years, one of those behind-the-scenes staffers who quietly keeps things humming. On any given day she could offer up insight and institutional knowledge to any lawmaker, reporter or constituent ready to seek it.
How the lege was won
In many cases, DFLers simply got caught in an undertow in districts that are fundamentally split in their political allegiances; in some, like rural Senate District 16, they handed back control of districts no one had expected them to win in the first place; in others, it appears, they failed to take steps to protect incumbents who faced discernible pockets of Republican opposition.
Legislature sees a DFL drubbing for the ages
Republicans pummeled DFLers in the suburbs and greater Minnesota on Tuesday night to take control of both chambers of the Legislature for the first time since the modern partisan era started in the early 1970s.
GOP eyes Senate seat takeovers
At some point this year, everybody who's anybody in the state GOP and the Senate Republican Caucus has stepped to a podium to proclaim 2010 the year they will finally take over the chamber.
Pensions: Can the center hold?
During floor debate on the omnibus pension bill on May 5, state Sen. David Hann, R-Eden Prairie, offered an amendment that proposed to stop offering new employees defined benefit pensions and instead offer to a more market-based form of retirement savings known as defined contribution plans.
Betzold eyes return to Judiciary chairmanship
Sen. Don Betzold would like to regain the chairmanship of the Judiciary Committee. Betzold, who currently is chairman of the State Government Budget Division, was Judiciary chairman from 2003 to 2006.
13 could be lucky number for Senate GOP
Around convention time in the spring, Senate Minority Leader Dave Senjem, R-Rochester, boasted that his caucus would retake the chamber’s majority in November. Considering Senate Republicans’ 38-year stranglehold on minority status, and the 13 seats that his troops will need to gain to make good on the pledge, it amounts to a tall order.
In the age of social media hype, direct mail still a pivotal part of campaigning
Back in the 1990s, in another political lifetime, political operatives like Mark Penn and Karl Rove made names for themselves by exploiting the advantages of closely defined messages to specific groups of voters via direct mail.
Top News
- Minnesota artists consider what’s next in AI copyrights
- Defining ‘and’ in sentencing statute falls to Supreme Court
- Hashtag rates higher libel protection
- Court: Performance issues, not bias, prompted union to fire organizer
- Robot milker case yields $122M
- 2023 Up & Coming Attorneys
- 2023 Unsung Legal Heroes
- Appeals court takes up transgender health coverage case
Expert Testimony
- Perspectives: Oral arguments at high court stir lively debates
- Quandaries & Quagmires: Advance waivers: Lessons from Paul Hastings vs. Coca Cola
- Perspectives: Recent cellphone ruling recalls high court cases
- The Unfrazzled Lawyer: Supercharge your unfrazzled lawyer efforts
