What will shape the outcome of the 2018 elections nationally and in Minnesota?

Democrats lead in races for both Senate seats and the governorship, but only in one case — Sen. Amy Klobuchar’s 53-38 percent lead over Jim Newberger — does the race appear to be noncompetitive.

Let’s consider several aspects of the primary and post-primary situations to parse the big question.

The confusion at the DFL convention suggested the renewed timeliness of the Will Rogers’ crack from 1935: “I am not a member of any organized party — I am a Democrat.”

How has the state and national political world changed?

Are Hillary Clinton and the Democrats in trouble in Minnesota regarding the 2016 elections?

If America’s demographics were those of 1980, John McCain and Mitt Romney would have won the presidency in 2008 and 2012.

Candidate fundraising disclosures in the gubernatorial race are not due until the end of this month, but some entrants just couldn’t wait to tell the public how much they received. Three Republican candidates have released their totals so far, and Gov. Mark Dayton has preemptively hinted at his own total, giving some indication of the shape of the race at the onset of the election year.

A national Republican group is hammering DFLers in three greater Minnesota congressional districts over the technical failures that have beset the rollout of the federal health insurance exchange.

Dayton and his campaign team are adamant about his plans to run for re-election, and with roughly one year to go before Election Day, they’re crafting a campaign message that highlights job creation, higher education funding and lower property taxes during his first term as governor. Likewise, the five Republicans currently seeking the nomination to take Dayton on next fall are combing through his record and preparing their attacks.