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Two Republicans are ready to square off for the party's nod to run for an open state Senate seat. The state was set to hold a special primary on Tuesday for the Senate seat covering suburbs north of Minneapolis. The opening was triggered when former GOP Sen. Branden Petersen resigned this fall.
Three weeks before Iowa kicks off the 2016 presidential campaign, Donald Trump and Ted Cruz are generating overwhelming enthusiasm among Republican voters in the state, along with concern, though not panic, among the party professionals who believe both are unelectable in November against the Democratic nominee.
No decision has been reached on a possible special session for Minnesota state lawmakers. Gov. Mark Dayton held a meeting with Republican leaders Friday morning. House Speaker Kurt Daudt spoke afterward and says he felt it was a very productive meeting.
Gov. Scott Walker is asking Wisconsin's attorney general to challenge President Barack Obama's gun control plan. Walker said in a statement Wednesday that he believes Obama overstepped his authority when he announced an executive action to expand mandatory background checks to gun shows, flea markets and online sales.
Gov. Mark Dayton and House Republicans are clashing over how quickly to handle a dispute with the federal government over driver's licenses that could spell trouble for air travelers.
A Republican state senator who ran for Minnesota governor in 2014 said Tuesday that he won't run for re-election because he's moving to North Carolina.
Gov. Mark Dayton has asked legislative leaders to make a final call by the end of next week on whether to hold a special session, he told The Associated Press in a Thursday interview.
Wisconsin Republicans are pushing a bill that would allow children under 12 to drive more powerful all-terrain vehicles on state trails. Right now, children under 12 can drive an ATV or a utility terrain vehicle on private property under adult supervision.
Minnesota House Republicans are proposing to eliminate the statewide property tax on cabins. Currently, cabins are taxed at a higher rate than normal homes and have generated about $44 million each year for the state.
Texas Sen. Ted Cruz's venture outside the early-voting states in the Republican presidential nominating contest is bringing him to Minnesota. Cruz, who has risen steadily among GOP hopefuls, was holding a rally Thursday on Harriet Island.
Tens of millions of people watched Tuesday night's Republican presidential debate. The latest numbers show that 18 million people watched the debate on CNN.
Texas Sen. Ted Cruz will embark next week on a weeklong campaign blitz of Minnesota and other states that will hold March 1 presidential race voting. His presidential campaign announced Friday that the Republican will be in Minnesota on Thursday as he sets off on a fly-around of seven Super Tuesday states.
Despite his own reluctance, Gov. Mark Dayton has authorized payment of a $200,000 legal settlement with a former employee of a state ethnic council. Dayton approved the payment even though he said before Thanksgiving he was hesitant to do so following a legislative commission's party-line vote against the deal.
The chairman of Minnesota's Republican party says a local party's social media manager is being fired for referring to a "Negro problem" on Twitter.
A panel of top Minnesota lawmakers has opposed a $200,000 settlement with an ex-state employee who accused her boss of defamation and discrimination while he forced her out.
Minnesota's Senate majority leader says he's worried a Republican push to make a special session contingent on a PolyMet project pledge could do more harm than good.
Minnesota should prepare for thousands of "driverless" cars on state roads in the very near future. That's the prediction of a top state lawmaker, who says self-driving cars will one day outnumber traditional vehicles, and make other forms of transportation obsolete.
As far as Gov. Mark Dayton is concerned, Senate Republicans can keep their offices where they're at. Dayton commented Tuesday on a declaration by GOP senators that they'd forego a move to the new Senate Office Building when it opens early next year.
Gov. Scott Walker says Wisconsin will not accept any new Syrian refugees in the wake of the terrorist attacks in Paris because they pose a threat.
Minnesota's Senate Republicans have decided against moving into a new office building for at least another year, their leader said Thursday. Senate Minority Leader David Hann told The Associated Press that his members concluded the relocation isn't worth the hassle.
With the November 2016 elections just one year away, Republicans, Democrats and outside groups are preparing for expensive battles over state legislative seats. Increasing activity by independent groups could push next year's campaign fundraising totals past those of previous election cycles.
Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul is making Minnesota stops in his presidential campaign ahead of the next big Republican debate. Paul's campaign said Tuesday that the 2016 hopeful will appear at events in Minnesota on Monday, a day ahead of the debate in neighboring Wisconsin. Trip details are still being finalized.
Paul Ryan became the 54th speaker of the U.S. House on Thursday in a day of high political theater, a young new leader for a fractured Congress, charged with healing Republican divides and quieting the chaos of Capitol Hill.
Responding to Ben Carson's surge in Iowa, Donald Trump said Tuesday he'll stick with the presidential race, even if he loses the luxury of running from atop the polls.
Republican Rep. Paul Ryan is likely to become the next speaker of the House. He's already an unlikely spokesman for balancing family life with work.
