Campaign Finance

In the five months since the Iowa Supreme Court ruled that gay and lesbian couples could legally marry in that state, 676 same-sex couples have married there as of July 27, according to a report by the Des Moines Register. Of those, 36 couples were from Minnesota.
On Sunday, that number jumped by nine as a [...]

Officials in Minneapolis can confidently predict the level of voter turnout at the city’s next scheduled election: precisely zero. That’s because this morning, by an 11-0 vote, the city council set Sept. 15 as the date for a primary election they have no intention of actually holding.

The Minnesota Campaign Finance and Public Disclosure board agreed to fine the campaign committee of gubernatorial candidate Matt Entenza on Tuesday for inadvertently accepting a campaign contribution from a lobbyist.

Minnesota’s Senate candidates are raising huge amounts of money — more than $30 million this cycle, as of the end of the 3rd quarter, which ended Sept. 30.
DFLer Al Franken reported out-raising Republican Sen. Norm Coleman for the quarter. Franken raised $4.4 million and Coleman raked in $1.6 million, but Coleman still leads the money [...]

Sen. Norm Coleman has taken some media heat for his relationship to Nasser Kazeminy and Coleman’s recent stonewall over whether Kazeminy purchased expensive suits for the Senator. Coleman acknowledges that Kazeminy paid for vacations for Coleman, but how has Kazeminy benefited from their friendship?
The Nation’s Ari Berman digs into the financial friendship between Coleman and [...]

At the press availability event Thursday, the one that barred Minnesota Independent and The UpTake, Sen. Norm Coleman attempted to address recent concerns about whether Nasser Kazeminy paid for his suits. The Pioneer Press’ Rachel Stassen-Berger has the transcript of the event.
While I have answered honestly the question about suits and jobs – I will [...]

Since 2000, the Republican Party of Minnesota has had problems complying with the Federal Election Commission’s requirements for reporting, a fact made painfully clear over the last month as the party has amended virtually every report it has made since 2002. The Federal Election Commission (FEC) is responsible for enforcing election laws pertaining to contributions [...]

Producer and HRC mainstay Harvey Weinstein is pushing a plan in which he would put together the dollars required to do primary re-votes in Florida and Michigan. He wants the blessing of key Democrats — with their kneecaps intact or otherwise. CNN describes two threats Weinstein reportedly levied in a call with House Speaker Nancy [...]

Despite canceling her morning round of post-primary big media appearances yesterday, Hillary Clinton was back on the stump in West Virginia by midday sounding not at all like a candidate who has dropping out on her mind. A few of her more quotable remarks:

“If we had the rules that the Republicans have, I’d already be [...]

The FEC has released new numbers summarizing the financial status of the Al Franken for US Senate campaign through March 31, and here’s how they break down:

Franken’s first-quarter 2008 take was about $2.2 million, bringing the campaign’s total receipts so far to $9,356,168.
During the same period, the campaign spent $1.8 million.
Franken’s cash on hand thus [...]