Republicans Vie At Convention To Be Franken's Foe
The Republican chase to be Minnesota Sen. Al Franken's fall challenger is reaching a crucial point in Rochester. Delegates to the state GOP convention will vote to endorse a candidate.
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The Republican chase to be Minnesota Sen. Al Franken's fall challenger is reaching a crucial point in Rochester. Delegates to the state GOP convention will vote to endorse a candidate.
For Minnesota Republicans, this weekend's convention in Rochester won't deliver a typical knockout punch to all of the candidates who fail to get the endorsement of the party faithful.
Republican gubernatorial candidate Kurt Zellers has looked inside his own campaign for a running mate with the selection of former state Rep. Dean Simpson. The announcement Thursday is the latest pairing involving a current or former House member.
Minnesota lawmakers are gone from the Capitol after ending the 2014 session on Friday night. It was an unusually short and productive session. Included on the completed list is the bill to legalize medical marijuana, which became among the most publicly visible -- and contentious -- issues of the year.
There was something a little different going on at the State Capitol Tuesday: A major bill that everyone appears to agree on. It means a second round of tax cuts could be heading your way. State lawmakers already passed income tax relief on the way to hundreds of thousands of middle income Minnesotans. Now, homeowners and renters are getting a break.
Minnesota Republicans trying to oust Gov. Mark Dayton from office are giving negative reviews to the final State of the State speech of the Democrat's term. Reaction from the field of challengers was sharp and swift Wednesday night.
Political calculations are complicating consideration of a public works financing package. It's a marquee bill being closely watched from water-starved Worthington to the campgrounds-in-waiting at the new Lake Vermilion State Park.
Anoka Republican Jim Abeler says he won't seek re-election to his House seat as he focuses on running for U.S. Senate. Abeler, 59, a chiropractor by trade, is among several Republicans seeking to unseat Democratic Sen. Al Franken.
Republican Rep. Michele Bachmann is formally backing GOP candidate Tom Emmer to succeed her in Congress as an expected primary awaits that Minnesota race. Bachmann and other Republican officials stood with Emmer at a Tuesday news conference.
Lawmakers entered a 10-day Easter/Passover break on Friday. Next week, House Democrats will hit the road to talk about what they've done so far, and Republicans will be sharpening their election year message.
This legislative session has stalled out with battles over a proposed $90 million Senate office building and a proposed minimum wage increase. But the battle is not between Republicans and Democrats - it's the Democrats who are fighting amongst themselves. With Democrats controlling the Minnesota House and Senate as well as the governor's office, it's the Democrats who are battling with each other over key issues.
Five Republicans running for Minnesota governor are leaving no doubt they are united in their opposition to a planned Senate Office Building. The candidates held a joint news conference Thursday at the Capitol to showcase their distaste.
Sarah Palin is endorsing Minnesota state Sen. Julianne Ortman as she seeks the Republican party's Senate nomination. The former Alaska governor and vice presidential candidate says Ortman will fight for small businesses and understands "the burden our federal government places on hard-working Americans."
Legislative Republicans pressed Monday for a speedy resolution to a controversy over a proposed Senate office building, making clear they oppose its construction. Several GOP lawmakers said the state should make do with the space it has, and reconfigure Capitol renovation plans if necessary.
A tax relief measure put on a fast track in the Minnesota Senate on Wednesday could mean immediate breaks for at least 300,000 people. The Democratic-crafted proposal was unveiled a day after Gov. Mark Dayton implored lawmakers to speed up. The bill could get a floor vote as soon as Thursday.
Rep. Michele Bachmann spoke out against Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer's recent decision to veto a measure that some say would've allowed businesses to refuse service to gay people. Bachmann (R-Minn.) was talking with a talk radio show host during the Conservative Political Action Conference last week.
She was not on the speaking program, but Hillary Rodham Clinton had presence at the nation's largest annual gathering of conservative activists on Saturday, as high-profile Republicans launched a dual effort to attack the prospective Democratic presidential candidate and improve the GOP's longstanding struggle with women voters.
Assembly Republicans plan to vote on removing Rep. Bill Kramer as majority leader amid allegations that he groped a woman after a Washington fundraiser last week and verbally abused another on the flight home. Kramer has checked himself into an unspecified treatment facility and is not expected to be at the meeting.
Republican leaders in the Minnesota Legislature say the $1.2 billion budget surplus is no cause for celebration because it shows state government overtaxes its citizens. Republicans unveiled their response Friday to news of the enhanced surplus: "Give it back."
Minnesota lawmakers flock back to the Capitol on Tuesday for a legislative session expected to run 12 weeks at most. Having set the two-year budget last year, lawmakers face a shorter list of legislation they must consider this time. And it's always easier to get in the way of proposed laws than to enact them.
Mary Liz Holberg, a longtime Republican state representative from the Twin Cities suburb of Lakeville, says she won't run for re-election. A House GOP press aide confirms Monday that Holberg announced her plans over the weekend at a district Republican convention.
Wright County Republicans have endorsed Eric Lucero for the state House, bypassing David FitzSimmons after he voted to legalize gay marriage. Lucero won the endorsement Saturday for District 30B, which covers parts of Wright and Sherburne counties. Minnesota Family Council supported Lucero, claiming FitzSimmons "betrayed" his constituents. Council CEO John Helmberger says Lucero will promote the values of life and religious freedom.
All of the Republicans seeking to oust Democratic Gov. Mark Dayton regard Minnesota's problem-ridden health insurance exchange as an unmitigated disaster, but they differ on what they would do about it if they were elected.
Newly filed fundraising reports show money is already flowing fast into the tanks of Minnesota candidates, parties and outside groups to pay for manpower, mailings and TV commercials this campaign season. Among governor hopefuls, incumbent Democrat Mark Dayton had the biggest haul and more socked away than his seven Republican challengers combined. Democratic party units were in a generally stronger position than their GOP counterparts.
Republican Dave Thompson's selection of a running mate starts a parade of political pairings in Minnesota's race for governor. Thompson on Thursday announced that Michelle Benson, a fellow state senator, joined his ticket.
