In Senate District 24, which includes the southern Minnesota regional centers of Owatonna and Faribault, one candidate is warning about the harmful effects of state spending cuts while the other is throwing cold water on Gov. Mark Dayton’s desired income tax increase on the wealthiest earners.

Three sitting GOP legislators from the western Twin Cities suburbs face tough primary contests next week.

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

n the four months since legislative maps were released, political strategists and journalists have been scrutinizing the new House and Senate districts to determine which ones favor Republicans or Democrats and where the key battlegrounds will be in 2012.

It’s not uncommon for a legislator or two to announce their retirements after the end of session. But 2012 has seen more last-minute departures than many political pros can ever recall.

Sen. John Harrington’s legislative career will come to a close after just two years. In 2010 the former St. Paul police chief easily won an eight-candidate DFL primary to replace retiring Sen. Mee Moua.

"My decision to not seek re-election is so I can spend more time doing the greatest job I know, being a dad," Kath wrote in an e-mail announcing his decision.

After a veto by Gov. Mark Dayton last week, the House has passed a smaller version of its omnibus tax bill on a mostly party-line vote.

A year after Republican legislators joined forces with DFL Gov. Mark Dayton to enact changes to state education policy, the GOP’s 2012 K-12 agenda is foundering.

Both Kath and Ward are the sole incumbents in their respective new House districts that were announced two weeks ago in the redistricting maps. But there are special factors that might lead them to run for the Senate.