Brian Davis

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 of Senate races, Democrats’ chances improved in 14 races compared to just two for Republicans.
In Minnesota, [...]

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.

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 assessed the contest as favoring the incumbent, who is being challenged by medical doctor Brian Davis.
Two other [...]

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 backed by 45 percent. The American Research Group finds similar results, with Obama at 48 percent, one [...]

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.

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, it’s easy to overlook the September balloting.

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 Walz with a 35-point lead over state Sen. Dick Day and a 40-point advantage over Mayo Clinic physician Brian Davis.

In [...]

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 him to the punch with two ads focusing on his legal resume and on the plight [...]

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 will officially kick off the 2008 presidential race.  But that doesn’t mean there isn’t local news [...]

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.  What does this mean for the remaining Republican candidates, State Sen. Dick Day and Mayo [...]