The Minnesota Independent

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CQ Politics Ratings: Tinklenberg, Sarvi and Walz improve

By Andy Birkey | 10.27.08 | 7:01 pm

Congressional Quarterly released its election rankings for Senate and House races throughout the country, and it isn’t good news for Republicans. In all, 74 Democratic House candidates improved in CQ’s rankings compared to just nine for Republicans. In terms…

Nine of Forbes’ richest Americans are Minnesotans; who are they supporting?

By Jeff Severns Guntzel | 10.07.08 | 12:25 pm

Nine Minnesotans made Forbes’ richest Americans list this year. Most of them are peeling off small-fractions of their wealth to support political parties and candidates for national office–shoveling a total of $245,000 into the game since Election Day 2006. A little number crunching turns up a few surprises, like conservative broadcasting magnate Stanley Hubbard giving more to Senator Amy Klobuchar than he did to Norm Coleman.

Walz dropped from list of competitive House races

By Paul Demko | 09.30.08 | 11:43 am

The Rothenberg Political Report has dropped Minnesota’s First Congressional District from its list of competitive House races. This means it believes freshman Democratic Rep. Tim Walz is in little danger of losing his re-election bid. Previously Rothenberg had…

Dead heat for Obama, McCain in Minnesota

By Paul Demko | 09.23.08 | 9:37 am

A pair of new polls show John McCain and Barack Obama locked in an extremely tight contest in Minnesota. A Quinnipiac University Polling Institute survey has Obama garnering support from 47 percent of likely voters, while McCain is…

Primary results: Franken, Barkley easily advance

By Paul Demko | 09.09.08 | 10:04 pm

Al Franken will comfortably advance from today’s primary election to take on Norm Coleman in the U. S. Senate race. With more than 80 percent of the results in, Franken is carrying 67 percent of the vote in the seven-candidate field. His most credible challenger, attorney Priscilla Lord Faris, is currently garnering support from 29 percent of voters.

Eight questions about Tuesday’s primary election

By Paul Demko | 09.08.08 | 1:32 pm


There’s a primary election today in Minnesota. You can be forgiven for not having noticed. With the temporary Republican takeover of the Twin Cities and a U.S. Senate race that’s been billed as a two-candidate duel for months,…

Internal polling shows huge lead for Rep. Walz

By Andy Birkey | 05.30.08 | 3:58 pm

A poll commissioned by the campaign of Rep. Tim Walz, D-Minn., shows a commanding lead for the incumbent against two Republican challengers in Minnesota’s 1st Congressional District. Conducted by Benenson Strategy Group, the poll shows…

Campaign Notebook: Local happenings

By Joe Bodell | 01.10.08 | 7:45 am

A quick look at developments in the U.S. Senate and House races in Minnesota:
Senate:  Prepare for an air war:  Just as DFLer Al Franken announced that he would hit the airwaves early in 2008, fellow DFLer Mike Ciresi beat…

Campaign Notebook: Don’t get buried

By Joe Bodell | 01.03.08 | 8:22 am

News cycles are funny things — an item can be news right up until the point that something bigger comes along and makes it passe.

In today’s case, that Something Bigger is the Iowa Caucuses, set for this evening, which…

Campaign Notebook: Republican Field Shrinks in CD1

By Joe Bodell | 12.12.07 | 5:00 pm

Mark Meyer, the Republican school board member seen in many quarters as engaging in a quixotic quest for the Republican nomination in Minnesota’s First congressional district, withdrew from the race Tuesday and endorsed Randy Demmer, one of three remaining candidates. …