Three Minnesota politicians — none of them now in office — received political donations from accused Ponzi schemer Sir Allen Stanford or his staff. Stanford’s largest and most recent gift ($2,300) was to Democrat Ashwin Madia, who tried…
Minnesota’s U.S. Representative-elect for the Third District, Republican Erik Paulsen, ran one of the best five House campaigns in the country, according to the Washington Post blog The Fix. Paulsen “beat back the anti-Republican trend,” writes Chris Cillizza, “by focusing on his own accomplishments in the state legislature.” The Fix tracked the Third District contest closely throughout the campaign season as one of the nation’s most competitive congressional contests. But in several ways Cillizza’s summary this morning doesn’t exactly square with how home-state observers might recall the race.
Political pundit Stu Rothenberg has unveiled his year-end awards and a trio of Minnesota politicians are among the nominees. Rep. Michele Bachmann makes the cut in the “Master of Self-Destruction” category owing to her Hardball meltdown. But…
Three Minnesota candidates who didn’t win their elections — or haven’t won yet anyway, with the U.S. Senate race still in limbo — can take a little consolation in having their television ads (or ads meant to benefit them) honored on national best-of lists. “Running,” the first TV ad that Democrat Ashwin Madia aired in his losing bid to replace U.S. Rep. Jim Ramstad in Minnesota’s 3rd Congressional District, was this morning ranked among the nation’s eight best ads in U.S. House races this year by The Fix, a Washington Post blog. Videos and more best-of listings after the jump, including the ad attacking Madia that used clips from “Running.”
As President-elect Obama moves to form his staff, Minnesotans with ties to his candidacy and a desire to move to Washington, D.C. may reasonably hold out hope to get tapped. One post that already got away from the Minnesota crowd is White House press secretary. Another is chief of staff — and U.S. Rep. Rahm Emanuel’s ascension to that perch will set Minnesotans who know him a-twitter. Meanwhile, T-Paw finds his own higher perch — on the shortlist of GOP prospects for filling the job of U.S. President.
The main question for the national Democratic party this morning may be what to take for all those post-victory hangovers, but at some point the chieftains of the Democratic congressional apparatus will get around to examining those few places where the party failed to make the most of a decisive Barack Obama win. And when they do, Minnesota — where Obama turned in the strongest Democratic presidential performance since 1976 — is likely to be at the top of the list.
Democrat Ashwin Madia and Republican state Rep. Erik Paulsen fought one of the fiercest battles for a U.S. House seat this year, while Independence Party candidate David Dillon brought the lion’s share of the laughs to the 3rd Congressional District race. With the race over today, maybe Ash and Erik can share a laugh over drinks sometime. In fact, they already have, in this short clip from the candidate debate at Edina High last month. Video after the jump.
In e-mails to the Minnesota Independent this afternoon, KSTP-TV’s Tom Hauser responds to reports that the station gave Republican state Rep. Erik Paulsen’s campaign an early heads-up yesterday about the results of the latest 3rd Congressional District poll that Survey USA conducted for KSTP. Hauser also confirms that the latest poll was a re-do of one just two days earlier that left out the name of David Dillon, Independence Party candidate.
A new Survey USA poll shows for the first time a spread between the two leading candidates in Minnesota’s 3rd Congressional District that’s greater than the margin of error. It’s a sudden swing that Survey USA suggests might be due to a TV ad that darkens Democrat Ashwin Madia’s skin. But if so, the effect would seem to arise more from recent news reports about the ad than from the ad itself, which came out a full week before the first of Survey USA’s latest pair of back-to-back polls. Another way Republican Erik Paulsen’s ahead: KSTP gave Paulsen’s campaign an early preview of the poll results, according to Joe Bodell. And David Dillon’s camp says the poll is a re-do because the Survey USA left the Independence Party candidate’s name off last time.
For decades, Republicans have won the battle on wedge social issues at the polls in suburban districts, while Democrats quietly tried to shoo those wedge issues away. But Democratic candidates in tough districts are slowly coming to openly support equality for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people, and they are being led by a new crop of unlikely pioneers — military veterans. DFLer Ashwin Madia is one such candidate.
Do you know where to vote on Election Day? Do you know what to bring with you? Get comprehensive voter information for your state here.
