David Schultz

House Speaker Margaret Anderson Kelliher is getting her second union endorsement for governor in as many days (and her third so far), this one from the 43,000-member Greater Minnesota American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) Council 65, Minnesota Public Radio’s Polinaut reports.

Minneapolis Mayor R.T. Rybak romped to a third term while openly flirting with a 2010 gubernatorial bid. Today a state agency rebuked him for mingling funds while pursuing the dual political contests. Will the ruling hurt Rybak’s political viability?

The personal is apparently political for Minneapolis City Council president Barb Johnson. City Pages reports that the four-term council member, who is locked in a tough, four-way re-election fight, makes some rather dubious campaign expenditures.
Johnson charged her campaign $1,154 for hairdresser appointments and $986 for dry-cleaning during the current four-year election cycle. No other city [...]

After three years as St. Paul city attorney, John Choi is seeking a promotion. Flanked by Mayor Chris Coleman and a cast of other high-profile officials, he announced today he’s running for Ramsey County Attorney.

Norm Coleman conceded the U.S. Senate contest last week, but immediately prompted speculation that he’ll run for governor in 2010. Does the Republican have the political clout — and the personal finances — to be a viable candidate?

The announcements by Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin and Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty came 3,100 miles and 31 days apart. But observers in Alaska and Minnesota see close ties between the two Republican governors’ intentions to leave office.

The end is near in the U.S. Senate contest. That might seem difficult to believe given that the fight has now dragged on for nearly seven months, but the bottom line is that Norm Coleman is running out of legal options.

Al Franken is almost certain to prevail in the U.S. Senate election contest currently before the Minnesota Supreme Court. That’s the consensus from legal analysts following oral arguments in the lawsuit filed by Norm Coleman contesting a three-judge panel’s ruling that he lost the election by 312 votes.
Edward Foley, a law professor at Ohio State [...]

If the Minnesota Supreme Court hears Norm Coleman’s appeal of Al Franken’s election victory, the justices would do well to fill seats on the bench that recusals leave empty with temporary help drawn from the ranks of retired justices and judges. That’s the opinion of Sandra Gardebring Ogren, a former associate justice, who says “a fuller court would increase public confidence in the decision.”

Norm Coleman is not going down without a fight. But by continuing to drag out the contest, his political prospects could suffer “serious damage,” according to one-time rival Dean Barkley. Meanwhile, former Sen. Dave Durenberger, a Republican and Coleman supporter, believes that the most serious damage to Coleman’s political future has already occurred.