State Auditor Rebecca Otto's re-election campaign this morning accused the Minnesota GOP Party of making "sweeping" data requests in search of information to smear her campaign.

State Sen. Paul Koering, R-Fort Ripley, had a dinner date last weekend with a gay porn actor who divides his time between Brainerd and West Hollywood, Calif.

The Minnesota Republican Party is alleging that Independence Party gubernatorial candidate Tom Horner unfairly benefited from a poll that was conducted by a longtime acquaintance.

The 2010 Minnesota Legislature adjourned sine die this morning after passing a last-minute compromise that eliminated a $3 billion budget deficit. And within minutes of adjournment, the reaction flood began.

Minnesota Republican Party Chair Tony Sutton this afternoon blamed House Speaker (and DFL gubernatorial candidate) Margaret Anderson Kelliher and her party for the potentially disastrous consequences of today's state Supreme Court ruling that Gov. Tim Pawlenty overstepped his unallotment authority last year.

Tom Horner, a longtime Republican, is seeking the Independence Party's endorsement for governor. He's calling for candidates to rise above partisanship in debating state budget deficit solutions.

Some GOP delegates still have a bad taste in their mouths over the controversial treatment of Ron Paul at the 2008 state convention. GOP Chairman Tony Sutton has vowed to make this year's convention more open.

Welcome to our live blog of the 2010 Minnesota state Republican convention. Stick with us today and tomorrow, as we cover all the hoopla and fanfare and actual business of the GOP.

States’ rights, abolition of the Metropolitan Council and opposition to the new federal health care law are among the platform proposals that have passed through the lengthy process of making it onto this weekend’s GOP state convention agenda.

If you're going by the attack spin of the GOP gubernatorial endorsement fight, delegates to this weekend's state Republican convention in Minneapolis will choose between a) an introverted state representative who made a last-minute campaign error last week by drawing attention to his opponent's 30-year-old DWI record; and b) a sometimes reckless legislator who casts himself as a political outsider, yet picked the "ultimate insider" to be his running mate.