Fourteen Republican state legislators, including gubernatorial nominee Tom Emmer, received perfect ratings from Minnesota Majority for their voting records during the 2010 legislative session. Conversely, seven state senators, all Democrats, received zero ratings from the conservative advocacy group.

Chaudhary's primary loss made him the body's fifth departing chair

The 201 legislative seats on this November's general election ballot include 23 races featuring intra-party challenges that will be settled in Tuesday's partisan primary.

Traditionally, there have been a number of more or less well-worn paths to the Minnesota Legislature. They include backgrounds in local government, business, and partisan political activism. Each, in its own way, has tended to breed familiarity with the levers of government and how they operate.

The Saint Paul Federation of Teachers is backing former St. Paul Police Chief John Harrington in the crowded Senate District 67 contest. The union's political committee voted to support Harrington to replace retiring state Sen. Mee Moua after screening the candidates.

Pakou Hang is backing Chai Lee in the crowded Senate District 67 contest. In 2005, Hang ran for a St. Paul City Council seat, losing out to Sixth Ward incumbent Dan Bostrom by less than 400 votes. Perhaps more relevant to the current St. Paul Senate contest: Hang was the campaign manager for Mee Moua's initial successful campaign in 2002.

While the gubernatorial campaigns and the legislative caucuses are attracting most of the money and attention in the current election cycle, legislative candidates in competitive districts are also getting some measure of love from the PAC donors who have weighed in with their first finance reports of 2010.

When Kathy Lantry’s mom was growing up in the Dayton’s Bluff neighborhood of St. Paul in the 1940s, the Sacred Heart Church held Masses in both English and German. Today the Roman Catholic parish still conducts Mass in a pair of languages, but the non-English service has changed to Spanish.

State Sen. Mee Moua's unexpected decision not to seek a third term at the Capitol set off a political frenzy in the St. Paul district that she represents. Ultimately nine DFL candidates jumped into the fray, setting up a confusing August 10 primary. Look for a longer piece about the contest on PIM's web site later today, but here's thumbnail sketches of the contenders:

The Minnesota Nurses Association will not endorse a candidate in the Senate District 67 contest prior to the August 10 primary. The union's political committee met last night to consider backing a successor for retiring state Sen. Mee Moua, but decided not to act, according to political organizer Andrea Ledger.