Minnesota Independent

Rare election year in Minnesota: No Pawlenty, Coleman on ballot

By Chris Steller | 01.19.10 | 1:33 pm

Norm Coleman’s decision to sit out this year’s race for governor makes 2010 unusual among recent years in Minnesota GOP electoral politics. For only the second time since 1990, a state election year will pass without Norm Coleman or…

Bachmann backs “steadfast conservative” Parry in special state senate election

By Chris Steller | 01.19.10 | 1:07 pm

Racist and homophobic tweets weren’t enough to stop U.S. Rep. Michele Bachmann from endorsing GOP candidate Mike Parry for state Senate in next week’s District 26 special election.

Coleman: Brown win in Massachusetts would be ‘cosmic’

By Chris Steller | 01.19.10 | 10:43 am

Al Franken’s brief reign as Democrats’ 60th vote in the U.S. Senate will come to an abrupt end today if Republican Scott Brown wins Massachusetts’ special election — a potential result that former Sen. Norm Coleman calls “cosmic.” Indeed, Democrat…

AM.MN: Coleman coulda but woulda been ‘waste of public’s attention’

By Chris Steller | 01.19.10 | 8:34 am

By not running for governor, Norm Coleman joked Monday, he’s “free at last, free at last.” Newspaper editorialists miss him already. Coleman’s exit “leaves a void,” says the Star Tribune, though rehashing his record for the…

Norm Coleman can’t run for governor with recount cash

By Chris Steller | 01.15.10 | 5:35 pm

If Norm Coleman runs for governor of Minnesota, it won’t be with money left over from the record-setting U.S. Senate campaign against Al Franken.

Pawlenty decries ‘ludicrous’ local projects, proposes ‘Spartan’ bonding

By Chris Steller | 01.15.10 | 5:29 pm

Gov. Tim Pawlenty unveiled his $685 million bonding plan for the state Friday, signaling that he’d veto a richer bill from the state Legislature rather than trim it via line-item vetoes. He showed special disdain projects that he said had only local significance and criticized increased pay for teachers.