Leaders from all four legislative caucuses are spending the waning days of the 2012 campaign barnstorming key districts around the state.

With no groundswell predicted for either party in this year’s election, the legislative races in Eagan’s District 51 are once again likely to prove pivotal in GOP efforts to retain control of the Legislature.

For better or worse, Michael Brodkorb was back on the campaign trail last week. This time, however, the former GOP attack dog, deputy Republican Party chair and Senate communications guru who helped mastermind the 2010 GOP takeover of the chamber has materialized in a glossy pink and blue mailer that’s being used to attack Republicans.

The campaign finance reports released last week show that political action committees large and small have been funneling lots of money into legislative races.

On Tuesday afternoon, officials from the United Food and Commercial Workers union met at the DFL headquarters in St. Paul with Senate Minority Leader Tom Bakk and House Minority Leader Paul Thissen.

The Senate District 49 race has resulted in the largest haul so far with more than $100,000 in political contributions. Campaign finance reports have revealed this and a lot more, including some notable financial mismatches as well as challengers bringing in more than incumbents.

When so-called right-to-work legislation came up for a floor vote in March, Sen. Jeremy Miller was the only Republican to vote against the proposal. Although it was merely a procedural vote to send the proposed constitutional amendment to a different committee, organized labor was grateful for the freshman legislator’s public opposition.

On the anniversary of the start of last year's 20-day government shutdown and at the start of a critical legislative campaign season, D FL House Minority Leader Paul Thissen took the podium to blame the Republican majorities for the historic shuttering of state government and ask Minnesotans to avoid a “shutdown sequel" by electing DFL majorities.

The last two election cycles have witnessed wave elections for both parties that tilted the Minnesota House of Representatives in polar opposite directions.

On Tuesday hundreds of labor unions, business groups, lobbying shops and other independent political organizations submitted reports detailing how much money they’ve raised so far this year, what they’ve already spent and how much they have in the bank.