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The party's over for Minnesota Democrats. After two years of calling the shots in state government — a span in which they legalized gay marriage, raised the minimum wage and launched a state-run health exchange — their new reality is one of shared control with Republicans who gained a state House majority.
Minnesota Gov. Mark Dayton says he's willing to meet newly emboldened state House Republicans half way on key issues facing the state as long as they reciprocate.
Gov. Scott Walker wants to move quickly in passing his second term agenda through a Legislature controlled by Republicans who tightened their grip on the majority with wins in the midterm election.
Republicans have grabbed control of the Minnesota House and broken up the Democrats' short run of one-party rule at the Capitol. House Speaker Paul Thissen conceded early Wednesday that Democrats had lost control of the chamber.
Control of the Minnesota House hinged Tuesday on fewer than two dozen races where loads of money fed fierce contests between the Democrats in charge and the Republicans looking to take over.
Democratic Sen. Al Franken hoped to win a second term in the U.S. Senate on Tuesday more comfortably than he won his first. Franken's victory by a mere 312 votes in a 2008 recount made him an alluring target for Republicans, who hoped to seize control of the Senate.
The leading candidates for Minnesota's top offices are spending the final campaign weekend giving pep talks to the party faithful knocking on doors and calling persuadable voters. Democratic Sen. Al Franken told canvassers in a St. Paul suburb that races are "won at the door" and says his 312-vote win six years ago proves nothing can be taken for granted.
In a cramped office tucked behind an old 10-cent general store, the voice of 10-year-old Parker Hall cuts through the hum of non-stop conversation. Fueled by bottles of Dr Pepper and a big bag of candy, he asks if he can count on a vote for GOP candidates. Then another call. And another. He's at it for hours.
National Republicans are targeting Minnesota's 7th District with a barrage of last-minute TV ads. That's where Democratic U.S. Representative Collin Peterson is facing off with Republican Torrey Westrom.
Republican Secretary of State hopeful Dan Severson is suggesting his website was hacked for political reasons. Severson's campaign website crashed earlier this week. At news conference in St. Paul Friday, he said an early investigation shows it was breached by outsiders but they haven't identified who did it.
Minnesota is one week out from Election Day, and many political campaigns are going "old school." Thousands of Minnesota mailboxes are filling up with campaign literature.
Democrats seeking to maintain control of Minnesota's House of Representatives have a hefty cash advantage heading into Election Day. Fundraising reports Tuesday show House Democrats' campaign arm has more than $1 million on hand.
President Barack Obama is making a rare appearance on the campaign trail to help the Democratic challenger to Gov. Scott Walker in Wisconsin's hotly contested race. Obama was scheduled to campaign Tuesday evening with Democrat Mary Burke, a former Trek Bicycles executive and state commerce secretary who is running close against Walker.
Republican Gov. Scott Walker hasn't said much publicly about his positions on abortion or gay marriage, but he proudly trumpets his stances on both issues in a letter to a conservative group whose endorsement he wants. In the Sept. 5 letter to Wisconsin Family Action, Walker says he passed legislation that gives women seeking abortions more information and health protection and that he cut off state funding for abortion providers.
The Associated Press invited Gov. Mark Dayton and his GOP challenger, Republican Jeff Johnson, to respond to several questions ahead of next month's election. Here are their verbatim answers.
Republican Senate challenger Mike McFadden is turning a Minnesota Senate debate against Democratic incumbent Al Franken into an infomercial. McFadden's campaign announced Friday it would pay to re-air their only one-on-one debate so far.
Democrats are continuing their TV ad war against Republican 8th district Congressional candidate Stewart Mills, calling him an "out of touch millionaire." But if he's elected, Mills would join hundreds of other millionaires in Congress, including many from Minnesota.
Minnesota Republicans are again accusing Gov. Mark Dayton's administration of using shoddy math to show a lower increase in policy costs through the state's health care exchange. State officials this week said plans on MNsure would rise by 4.5 percent on average for 2015. They got the figure by averaging each provider's average increase or decrease.
A mining project under regulatory review has fueled a sharp exchange among Minnesota's candidates for governor. At a debate Wednesday night, Republican challenger Jeff Johnson accused Democratic Gov. Mark Dayton's administration of "slow-walking" a regulatory review of the PolyMet copper-nickel mine project in northeastern Minnesota.
Minnesota Republicans say a 4.5 percent average rate increase for people buying insurance through the state health exchange is deceptive. State officials announced the increase on Wednesday, and said Minnesota will still have the lowest rates in the nation next year.
WCCO is hosting a debate between U.S. Senate candidates Mike McFadden and the incumbent Sen. Al Franken on Sunday, Oct. 26 from 10 a.m. to 11 a.m. We're looking for your questions!
In the chilly curling hall-turned-community center, hundreds of iron miners gathered on a September afternoon to celebrate five decades of feeding America's thirst for steel. Some on walkers, some still wearing hardhats, they listened and cheered as a procession of speakers recounted stories of mining's trials and victories through the years until one — state Rep. Jason Metsa — cleared his throat and stepped back to the microphone.
State Senate Republicans are questioning a powerful Democrat's involvement with a Minneapolis nonprofit that spent more than $800,000 in taxpayer dollars on trips and personal expenses. Minneapolis Sen. Jeff Hayden sat on the board of Community Action Minneapolis, which was found in an audit to have misused state grants to help low income people.
The man Republicans are banking on to give longtime Rep. Collin Peterson a legitimate challenge in Minnesota's massive 7th congressional district can't see his constituents from across the room, but they can sure see him.
There's a change at the top of Republican gubernatorial candidate Jeff Johnson's campaign with six weeks to go in the race. Johnson announced Friday that he was switching campaign managers.
