Brian Melendez

Gov. Tim Pawlenty believes Minnesota has a “binge” spending problem. In order to fix this addiction, he’s proposing a rather radical solution: an amendment to the state’s constitution that would strictly limit future expenditures. Democrats say it’s simply a stunt to bolster Pawlenty’s presidential ambitions.

Gov. Tim Pawlenty will be in Newport Beach, California, this evening for the Western Conservative Political Action Conference. At a “private VIP” reception this evening he’ll be sharing the dais with former eBay chief executive and California gubernatorial candidate Meg Whitman. But it’s another, less-heralded speaker on the agenda that’s particularly interesting: Floyd Brown.
Who is [...]

Hundreds of Democrats gathered on the front lawn of the Capitol today for a noon-time rally to celebrate Al Franken’s long-awaited victory in the U.S. Senate contest. He’s expected to visit the Iron Range this weekend, before heading to Washington to take his post. “It was close — but we won,” Franken told the crowd.

Sen.-elect Al Franken will host a rally at the state Capitol on Wednesday to celebrate his victory in the U.S. Senate contest. The event will run from noon to 1 p.m. on the upper mall of the Capitol grounds. Franken, U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar and DFL party chair Brian Melendez are expected to be present. [...]

Norm Coleman may be violating federal campaign finance laws by paying his personal legal bills with campaign funds, according to charges in a complaint filed today by the Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party with the Federal Elections Commission. The controversy stems from a pair of lawsuits alleging that longtime Coleman associate Nasser Kazeminy attempted to funnel $75,000 to [...]

Even as Democratic Party organizations roll out videos and radio ads urging Norm Coleman to give up his claim on his old U.S. Senate seat, the head of the Democratic-Farmer-Labor party made this pronouncement about the Republican’s election-contest appeal to the Minnesota Supreme Court: “It’s over.”
Video after the jump.

Gov. Tim Pawlenty released his revised budget today, which proposes deeper cuts to health and social services while increasing K-12 education funding levels. Days earlier, Senate DFLers put forward their own proposal, which advocates across-the-board cuts to all state services while adding revenue by taxing Minnesotans with the highest income. The two budgets are very [...]

The Minnesota Democratic-Farmer-Labor (DFL) Party charged former U.S. Sen. Norm Coleman and a GOP lawyers’ group with violating Federal Election Campaign laws as they raise money for a post-recount lawsuit challenging the results of the Senate recount.

Norm Coleman released a new television ad today accusing his Democratic opponent of orchestrating two lawsuits alleging that Coleman’s longtime political patron funneled $75,000 that was intended to benefit the Senator to a Minneapolis insurance firm. Al Franken denounced and denied the allegation this afternoon, accusing the incumbent of lying to voters.

Sen. Norm Coleman’s campaign is illegally collaborating with two independent organizations that have been running advertisements on his behalf, according to a complaint filed by the state Democratic Party today with the Federal Election Commission.
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the National Federation of Independent Business SAFE Trust (NFIB) have both been running ads praising [...]