New faces fill seats previously held by Kelliher, Prettner Solon, Moua

A handful of Democrats are preparing for competitive contests in the rapidly approaching Aug. 10 primary, and recently released campaign finance reports could show if they have the support to win.

The filing deadline has come and gone. Candidates for the Minnesota Legislature are hitting the stump. But Democrats in 13 House and Senate districts and Republicans in 10 others will have to win in August to compete in November. Here are 10 legislative primaries to watch.

As Minnesota’s Republican Party was giddily tweeting the news that the party had fielded candidates for all 201 seats in the state Legislature for the first time in 30 years, the Independence Party of Minnesota was quietly celebrating its own milestone: 16 candidates for the Legislature in 2010, seven in Senate districts and nine in House districts.

Local governments across Minnesota have taken a budgetary pounding from the Legislature in the past two years. So is it a coincidence that a striking number of this year’s crop of legislative candidates come from the ranks of mayors’ offices and city councils around the state?

Sen. Yvonne Prettner Solon has endorsed Duluth City Councilor Patrick Boyle to succeed her in what has become known as the Solon seat in the Minnesota Senate.

If the phrase “sure thing” can be applied anywhere in politics, it might be appropriate in a small part of St. Paul, including Falcon Heights and a swath of territory north of Interstate 94.

The Minnesota House this afternoon approved a bill that would allow legislators who are called to active military duty during a legislative session to suggest temporary replacements while they are deployed.

Minnesota Commissioner of Revenue Ward Einess will testify this afternoon in favor of a bill that would require his agency to conduct a study of Minnesota and Wisconsin residents who would benefit from a reinstated income tax reciprocity agreement between the two states.

Not many pieces of legislation generate their own Facebook fan pages. But Sen. Richard Cohen's bill to allow liquor sales on Sundays has accumulated more than 3,100 fans on the social networking site. The bill would also permit sales of intoxicating beverages on Thanksgiving