Liberal activist fires first salvo, conservative candidate to follow suit.

Delegates in Rochester selected Sen. Scott Newman, R-Hutchinson, to compete for state attorney general and former Long Lake Mayor Randy Gilbert to run for state auditor in the first endorsements of the state party convention on Friday

Former Long Lake Mayor Randy Gilbert is the only announced Republican challenger

The first Republican to launch a campaign for Minnesota governor in 2014 immediately changed the dynamics for all other candidates who would follow him. In April, Orono businessman Scott Honour became the first candidate openly seeking the office, promising to bring an outsider’s perspective to the job.

As adversaries in the battle over a proposed same-sex marriage ban continue to raise and move around six-figure sums on a regular basis, the forces arrayed on both sides of the voter photo ID ballot question are going begging.

Near the close of a fractious two-day Republican Party of Minnesota state convention in St. Cloud, Jeff Johnson took the dais to address the elephant in the room: the tensions between supporters of Ron Paul and other activists and party regulars.

The race for Republican National Committeewoman at the state Republican Party convention this weekend is not exactly the most-watched political contest of the year.

In one of his first moves as chairman of the Republican Party of Minnesota, Pat Shortridge has appointed a slew of activists to lead efforts like photo ID, finances and fundraising ahead of the 2012 election.

Leaders and activists in the Republican Party of Minnesota haven’t had much time to think about elections lately. In a whirlwind series of events, the party lost its chairman, deputy chairman and secretary/treasurer in the span of three months amid mounting questions about the party’s finances.

The Republican Party of Minnesota faces numerous lingering questions about the state of its finances heading into the 2012 election season. Last month GOP officials announced that an internal financial review determined that the party has $2 million in debts. That’s roughly four times more than most party activists had been led to believe just a month earlier.