GOP gubernatorial candidates Jeff Johnson and Kurt Zellers are tied among primary voters, according to a KSTP-SurveyUSA poll released on Wednesday.

Greta Bergstrom’s campaign strategy to win the DFL endorsement for the House seat being vacated by Rep. Michael Paymar is simple, according to her campaign co-chair. “Get out in front and get people backing you right from the start,” St. Paul City Council member Amy Brendmoen said.

True story: Collin Peterson used to have a tough time getting elected to Congress. It took Peterson four tries before he finally defeated Republican incumbent Arlan Stangeland in 1990. Then Peterson faced back-to-back challenges from Republican Bernie Omann. In 1992 and 1994, Peterson held his seat, defeating Omann by a combined tally of fewer than 9,000 votes.

Minnesota and Wisconsin are on divergent paths when it comes to fiscal policy. Under Republican Gov. Scott Walker and a GOP-controlled assembly, Wisconsin cut taxes by nearly $1 billion this year, including a $650 million reduction in income taxes. The avowed goal was to make the state more attractive to businesses and bolster job growth.

Tea Party activists are reacting with alarm to Rep. Erik Paulsen’s comments suggesting that he would be willing to break with GOP House leadership in order to end the federal government shutdown.

Rhonda Sivarajah isn’t typically regarded as the conservative lightning rod in the GOP race to succeed U.S. Rep. Michele Bachmann. But Sivarajah, who entered the race in June, has used her role as as chair of the Anoka County Board of Commissioners to push through a series of measures that could burnish her image among activists in the state’s most conservative congressional district.

The new DFL legislative majorities that will take power in January owe a lot to the rejiggering of the geographic balance within their caucuses.

Embattled DFL Rep. Kerry Gauthier shocked nearly everyone in the Minnesota political firmament on Wednesday morning when he announced that he plans to seek reelection to his seat in the state House of Representatives. The announcement came one week after it was publicly reported that Gauthier had been investigated by Duluth police following an incident in which he used a Craigslist ad to meet and have oral sex with a 17-year-old male at an area rest stop.

After weeks of underwhelming financial numbers for Minnesota conservatives, this week starts with a much more encouraging set of digits. A new poll from Survey USA and KSTP finds an upswing in support for Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney in the state, and 52 percent of respondents planning to vote in favor of the ballot question to ban gay marriage.

Nearing the end of Session 2012, Dayton has mostly kept out of the headlines, the spotlight directed instead at scandals and internal battles within the Republican caucuses.