2010

House Speaker Margaret Anderson Kelliher is getting her second union endorsement for governor in as many days (and her third so far), this one from the 43,000-member Greater Minnesota American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) Council 65, Minnesota Public Radio’s Polinaut reports.

State House Speaker Margaret Anderson Kelliher’s gubernatorial campaign landed another labor union endorsement today, from the International Union of Operating Engineers Local 49. The “49ers” credit Kelliher with engineering the 2008 override of Gov. Pawlenty’s veto of the transportation bill — giving life to what the union terms “the largest job-creating bill in decades.”

While Rep. Michele Bachmann was the highest-profile catch for the “Appeal to Heaven” gala for the controversial You Can Run But You Cannot Hide International ministry (even though she ultimately was a no-show and sent a video message instead), another rising star in the local Republican party reportedly managed to make it to help raise [...]

As if Michele Bachmann’s 2010 re-election battle wasn’t already going to be a doozy, it’s begun shaping up as a proxy war between the forces of U.S. Sen. Al Franken and the man he bested in Minnesota’s recount, former Sen. Norm Coleman. “The eyes of the nation — and Michele Bachmann’s right-wing allies — will [...]

The political-numbers-geek website FiveThirtyEight.com was on the money with predictions about the outcome of the 2008 presidential race and Minnesota’s U.S. Senate recount. So cut ‘em some slack for saying Tim Pawlenty is the man to beat in the 2010 Minnesota governor’s race. Everyone learns from mistakes — and in this case, we learn how [...]

epublican Allen Quist solicits funds saying he and U.S. Rep. Michele Bachmann “are two peas in a pod.” Now he’s set to announce Thursday whether he’ll make a bid to join Bachmann in Congress by running against Democrat Tim Walz in Minnesota’s First District.

Asked what the biggest threat facing Minnesota now is, gubernatorial candidate and state Rep. Tom Rukavina, DFL-Virginia, is quick with an answer: Gov. Tim Pawlenty’s unallotments. In a video by Craig Stellmacher, Rukavina says the legislature “should’ve come out swinging” immediately after Pawlenty decided unilaterally to cut $2.7 billion from the state budget. He believes [...]

As expected, Dr. Maureen Hackett has officially entered the race to challenge Rep. Erik Paulsen in the Third Congressional District. A psychiatrist who served in the Air Force for seven years, Hackett announced her candidacy on her website and in an email to supporters.

Michele Bachmann is the most politically vulnerable member of Minnesota’s congressional delegation in 2010, according to the latest analysis from the Cook Political Report. The beltway publication lists the Sixth Congressional District seat as “leaning Republican.”

Gov. Tim Pawlenty’s 2012 presidential exploratory tour hits Florida today. There he could face a politically tricky question: Will he back Florida Gov. Charlie Crist or conservative darling Marco Rubio in next year’s U.S. Senate contest?