2010

Senate Democrats are salivating at the prospect of attacking Republicans in 2010 who voted against an anti-rape amendment sponsored by Al Franken, reports Politico. The provision, which was supported by 68 senators, would prevent the Department of Defense from contracting with companies that prohibit employees from suing over workplace disputes — including complaints of sexual [...]

Gubernatorial candidate Margaret Anderson Kelliher picked up an endorsement from Minnesota’s largest union of state professional employees today. MAPE — the Minnesota Association of Professional Employees — announced its support for Anderson Kelliher, who is speaker of the state House of Representatives.
MAPE, which has nearly 13,000 members, interviewed each gubernatorial candidate in Roseville on Monday [...]

When state Sen. Michael Jungbauer announced in August that he was running for governor, he stated that God was calling on him to seek the state’s top office. Apparently God had a change of heart.
The Republican from East Bethel announced today that he is dropping out of the governor’s contest. He cited fundraising struggles as [...]

For the second day in a row, CNN.com has posted an in-depth story on U.S. Rep. Michele Bachmann.

The furor over the Stupak amendment banning abortion in the House health bill was already highly charged. Now one conservative commentator has dared touch the third rail in the right-to-choose debate: optional knee surgery.

“Where is Michele Bachmann headed?” asks CNN.com in a longish story that charts her rise alongside Sarah Palin’s. Once upon a time the Sixth District congresswoman had to prime the pump to get speculation about her future flowing. Now it comes almost unbidden as part of the Bachmann media overdrive.

Brian Sullivan is not running for governor. If that news sounds familiar, it’s because the conservative businessman initially announced that he’d be sitting out the 2010 contest in June during an appearance on Minnesota Public Radio.

U.S. Rep. Erik Paulsen is one of 33 Republicans in Congress who have “a giant target on their back” after voting against an overhaul of health-care system Saturday. That’s according to the Democratic National Committee, which announced plans to target Paulsen and other GOP reps whose districts voted for President Obama in 2008.

Minneapolis Mayor R.T. Rybak romped to a third term while openly flirting with a 2010 gubernatorial bid. Today a state agency rebuked him for mingling funds while pursuing the dual political contests. Will the ruling hurt Rybak’s political viability?

There is a grassroots effort underway to draft Ramsey County Sheriff Bob Fletcher to run for governor. The campaign has set up Facebook and Twitter accounts to generate momentum for a gubernatorial bid. There’s also an online petition that Fletcher supporters can sign.
The “Draft Bob Fletcher for MN Governor in 2010″ Facebook page currently has [...]