While Republicans Erik Paulsen and Michele Bachmann are leading by a wide margin in the amount of funds raised overall by the Gopher State's U.S. House representatives and announced congressional candidates in the current election cycle, it is Bachmann's two DFL challengers, Maureen Reed and Tarryl Clark, [...]
The Center for the Study of Politics and Governance at the Humphrey Institute of Public Affairs has launched a new site on political news reporting by University of Minnesota students.
The first installment, a "watchdog" series on Minnesota politics, sees the debut of three new articles: one on Department [...]
After three consecutive months of a declining percentage of Minnesotans filing unemployment claims, the Gopher State's seasonally adjusted jobless rate increased to 7.6 percent in October - up from 7.4 percent in September.
Unemployment in Minnesota has increased 35.7 percent from one year ago (5.6 percent) but is [...]
Roll Call columnist and American Enterprise Institute resident scholar Norm Ornstein will speak at the Humphrey Institute on Friday to review the Obama administration's wide-ranging policy initiatives and their progress in Congress as the political winds appears rady to shift.
A Report From Washington
Norm Ornstein, Resident [...]
Tim Walz and 6th CD DFL Challengers Reed and Clark Receiving Early Support in 2009 from State's Politicians
Depending on the fundraising strategies pursued by and opportunities presented to U.S. House officeholders and candidates, some politicians seek to build their campaign warchests through individual contributions (e.g. Michele Bachmann,' [...]
More than Twice As Many Republican U.S. House Members from Minnesota Have Had Military Service than DFLers Since Merger in 1944
Dr. Maureen Hackett, a forensic psychiatrist who served three years overseas as a psychiatrist in the United States Air Force, announced her candidacy on Tuesday for the [...]
Early Poll, Though Omitting Candidates, Suggests Coleman's Wait-And-See Approach Is Working
A new Rasmussen poll of 330 likely Republican primary voters in the Gopher State finds 50 percent want former U.S. Senator Norm Coleman to be their nominee.
Or do they?
To the chagrin of several candidates running [...]
Scenario could also be best chance for 3rd party revival in Gopher State
With all apologies to those who believe any analysis of the 2012 presidential election is still too premature, a newly released Rasmussen poll measuring the job performance of some members of the Minnesota [...]
Bachmann, Paulsen, and Kline Outraising DFLers by Nearly $30,000 in DFL Districts and by More Than $600,000 in GOP Districts
A Smart Politics analysis of 2009 Federal Elections Commission (FEC) data through the first three quarters of 2009 finds that Republican U.S. Representatives Michele Bachmann and Erik Paulsen [...]
One Tiny Minnesota Suburb Is Responsible for More than 10 Percent of All In State Large Donor Funds Contributed to the State's Eight U.S. House Members
Where do Minnesota's U.S. House members get the biggest bang for their buck when looking to build their campaign warchests? Minneapolis? St. [...]
Majority of Blue Dogs, Democratic Representatives in '08 Pick-up Districts, and Democrats in Competitive Districts All Vote in Favor of Bill
One of the reasons political analysts suspected Democrats might face difficulty in passing health care reform in the House this year, was due to potential holdouts among' [...]
Only 6 Percent of Large Donor Funds from 5th CD Residents Have Gone to Ellison This Year
A Smart Politics analysis of 2009 Federal Elections Commission (FEC) data finds that DFL Congressman Keith Ellison has only received 6.4 percent of individual itemized funds contributed by members of his [...]
Region Supported Amendment Banning Abortion Services from Bill by 12-11 Vote
The Upper Midwestern U.S. House delegation contributed 13 of the 220 votes Democrats received to pass a health care bill Saturday night that will require every American to obtain health insurance.
Two regional Blue Dog Democrats defected from their [...]
Less than half utilized 2nd choice option in mayoral race; voter turnout down by 25,000+ from 2005
Although nearly two-thirds of Minneapolis voters approved the change to ranked choice voting in 2006, less than half actually utilized the option of ranking multiple candidates in the mayoral election Tuesday [...]
Despite GOP-endorsed mayoral candidate Eva Ng improving notably in the City of St. Paul Tuesday night vis-à-vis the performances of John McCain and Norm Coleman from a year ago, one-term incumbent Chris Coleman posted the strongest performance in a St. Paul mayoral race in nearly 25 years.
Coleman [...]
With a new (partially) taxpayer-funded stadium set to open for the 50th year of Minnesota Twins baseball next year, all eyes will be on the franchise to see what players they lock up to long-term contracts (e.g. Joe Mauer), what players they acquire via trades or the [...]
With the latest polls indicating Democrats may be headed for a double digit loss in the open Virginia gubernatorial contest as well as a fight for their life to hold onto New Jersey's gubernatorial seat, Republican strategists are touting Tuesday's two highest profile races as both a [...]
Current Crop of 2010 Gubernatorial Candidates Is More 'Seasoned' Than Gopher State Governors Throughout History
(Previous installments of Smart Politics' 'Pathway to the Governor's Mansion' series include reports on the political experience, geographic background, and ethnic background of successful gubernatorial candidates in Minnesota history).
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Pawlenty criticizes Republican nominee as someone "Undeserving of wearing the Republican jersey."
This week Governor Tim Pawlenty joined the ranks of Sarah Palin, Senator Jim DeMint, former Senator and Presidential candidate Fred Thompson, former Pennsylvania Senator Rick Santorum, businessman and former presidential candidate Steve Forbes, and Minnesota Congresswoman [...]
Obama States Hold 10 of the Top 12 Slots in Out-of-State Per Capita Fundraising Among Itemized Individual Donors
Smart Politics reported yesterday that although PAC contributions to Congresswoman Michele Bachmann have been declining steadily over the past five quarters, contributions to her campaign by individuals have more [...]
Special Interest PAC Money to Bachmann's Campaign at Lowest Level Since Q2 2006 GOP Endorsement
U.S. Representative Michele Bachmann's latest fundraising haul - the 14th consecutive quarter of at least a quarter of a million dollars - stands out for the Congresswoman both for the impressive amount of [...]
Or, The End of Scandinavian Dominance
(Previous installments of Smart Politics' 'Pathway to the Governor's Mansion' series include reports on the political experience and geographic background of successful gubernatorial candidates in Minnesota history).
The elections of the last two governors in the Gopher State [...]
After holding more than 300 gubernatorial elections across the Upper Midwest during the past 160+ years, the region has yet to elect their first female governor.
With gubernatorial elections taking place in Minnesota, Iowa, South Dakota, and Wisconsin next year, will 2010 be the year in which a [...]
As has been widely reported since the new quarterly fundraising data was released by the FEC late last week, South Carolina Republican Congressman Joe Wilson notched a jaw-dropping $2.69 million in contributions to his 2010 reelection campaign.
Wilson gained recent notoriety in some circles for his "You" [...]
Ellison Also Raises More Money from Californians Than Minnesotans for the Second Consecutive Quarter
For the third consecutive quarter, DFL Congressman Tim Walz relied more on "home grown" individual itemized (i.e. "large donor") contributions than any of the Gopher State's eight U.S. Representatives.
At 83.0 percent, Walz raised [...]
For yet another fundraising cycle, Congresswoman Michele Bachmann continues to lead the Minnesota U.S. House delegation in several key facets, beyond the obvious fact that she has raised the most funds in 2009 among the state's eight U.S. House members.
The Republican Representative, who led the Gopher State [...]
On the heels of an announcment Thursday that Republican Congresswoman Michele Bachmann raised $345,000 during the third quarter of 2009, the staunch conservative from Minnesota's 6th District has now raised $118,093 in just two days through her new "Send a Message to the Left" campaign.
Bachmann raised $89,000 [...]
Department of Employment and Economic Development (DEED) Commissioner Dan McElroy and State Economist Tom Stinson were very cautious in their outlook of the Gopher State's jobs situation after DEED released new numbers on Thursday that showed Minnesota's seasonally adjusted unemployment rate had dropped from 8.0 percent in [...]
