Sen. Linda Higgins doesn’t want her political obituary written just yet. First off, while the five-term Minneapolis senator announced last Monday that she won’t seek re-election in 2012, she plans to serve out her term through the end of next year.

Steve Drazkowski likely winced a bit when the results of the state’s school referendums rolled in last Wednesday. The Republican House member from Mazeppa made a big splash late this summer when he spoke out against a slew of referendums in his legislative district.

DFL Rep. Mindy Greiling has spent years wrangling with the likes of education lobbyists as groups tried to sway the former House K-12 finance chairwoman to change longstanding policies or win a bigger piece of the multibillion-dollar budget pie. But no other group was more persistent, or powerful, than the so-called “education cartel.”

As gut-check time descends upon the parties to Minnesota’s looming government shutdown, perceptions around the Capitol as to who’s winning and who’s on the verge of blinking differ radically — and, unsurprisingly, mainly along partisan lines. If there’s one point on which nearly all observers agree, it’s that the polarization between governor and Legislature that characterized the Tim Pawlenty era is only deepening with time.

Rep. Sarah Anderson had been a staffer in the Minnesota House of Representatives for 10 years by 2006. That's when her predecessor in House District 43A, former Rep. Jeff Johnson, decided he'd leave the Legislature to make a run for the attorney general's office.

Ever since Margaret Anderson Kelliher captured the DFL endorsement for governor at the party convention in April and turned her attention toward a primary challenge from two well-heeled rivals, Mark Dayton and Matt Entenza, the dynamics of the race have remained relatively stable.

When strategists talk about swing districts, they’re talking about places like Senate District 56. While the east metro suburban area is currently represented by an all-DFL cast in the Minnesota Legislature, Republicans could have made the same boast less than five years ago.

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.

In the days leading up to the DFL state convention in Duluth, the widespread belief was that Minneapolis Mayor R.T. Rybak had established crucial momentum. Of course, that’s not exactly how it played out. Kelliher led on all six ballots and exited the convention center with the party’s backing. Rybak went back to Minneapolis City Hall. In the end, organization trumped charisma. Kelliher earned the party’s nod through months of meticulous planning, a well-executed convention floor plan, loyal support from her fellow House members and a final boost from organized labor.

Heading north this weekend to steep yourself in DFL politics? Got questions? Fear not – we’re here to help.