Indian tribes have been a powerful force in Minnesota politics for nearly two decades, bankrolling major political party groups with hundreds of thousands of dollars for their campaigns. In 2011 they spread their money almost evenly between DFLers and Republicans.

A steady downpour didn’t keep Indian gambling workers from flocking outside the state Capitol in St. Paul last April. At least 1,500 people gathered outside on the building’s steps, some arriving by the busload from reservations hours away. Clad in raincoats and shielded by a canopy of umbrellas, workers thrust signs into the air that read, “Rural jobs count too” and “Don’t gamble with my job!”

The Alliance for a Better Minnesota is leading spending in the Minnesota governor's race by third party groups, with almost all of its $2.9 million already spent on ads against GOP gubernatorial nominee Tom Emmer. But the Alliance is not the group raking in the cash.

Matt Entenza has contributed another $250,000 to his gubernatorial campaign for the final primary push. The former House Minority has now provided more than $5 million in personal funds for the effort, including $1.3 million just since the July 19 campaign finance filing deadline.

Independent political funds continue to pile up donations in the run-up to next week's primary election. The Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community sent $50,000 to the WIN Minnesota Political Action Fund this week, an organization with the primary mission of electing a DFL governor for the first time in more than two decades