State Auditor Rebecca Otto dismissed criticisms on Tuesday from her last-minute primary opponent, former House Minority Leader Matt Entenza, that she has allegedly misstated her support for voter ID legislation when she served in the Legislature a decade ago.

“I cannot keep my name as a leader of a party that I do not believe is the best option for the voters of this state,” wrote IP state director Kyle Lewis.

"If anybody knows me, I’ve never been the type to sit back and be quiet," Kuisle said.

Members of the Senate Judiciary Committee passed the bill on a 5-3 party-line vote after nearly three hours of discussion on Tuesday. The hearings attracted families, couples, religious leaders, children and business executives from around the state to testify for or against the bill. The bill is now ready for a likely late-session vote on the floor of the upper chamber.

Clark Johnson, a professor at Minnesota State University in Mankato, won the House District 19A primary race with about 66 percent of the vote, or 241 total votes. Farmer Karl Johnson came in second place with 26 percent of the vote, while St. Peter Mayor Tim Strand and educator Robin Courrier each garnered about 5 percent of the vote or less.

Pity the mail carriers in House District 48A. They’ve already delivered a freight car’s worth of mailers to homes in this west-suburban swing district that includes Eden Prairie and Minnetonka.

It was one of the first questions a voter asked of two suburban Minnesota House candidates at a recent forum: How were they planning to vote on the two proposed constitutional amendments on the ballot this fall?

DFL candidates and causes have received a disproportionate share of contributions from the state’s biggest political givers over the last decade

Former Vice President Walter Mondale and former Gov. Arne Carlson will lead the effort to defeat a proposed constitutional amendment requiring voters to show a photo ID at the polls. They'll be joined by former congressman Tim Penny and veteran civil rights activist Josie Johnson as co-chairs of Our Vote Our Future.

Brad Rixmann likes to say he was dragged into politics “kicking and screaming.” Just five years ago, Rixmann, the founder and CEO of Pawn America had been at the Capitol only a few times as a child.