Erik Paulsen

“Is the door closed? No it’s not,” State Sen. Terri Bonoff said to Minnesota Public Radio’s Polinaut yesterday, clarifying what the DFLer told the Minnesota Independent last week about another run for Congress in the Third District: “The door is open.” U.S. Rep. Erik Paulsen’s fellow Republicans at Minnesota Democrats Exposed jumped on the news: “Bonoff [...]

Freshman Republican Rep. Erik Paulsen is arguably the most vulnerable member of Minnesota’s congressional delegation. But so far he hasn’t attracted any challengers for 2010. That could change soon.

U.S. Rep. Erik Paulsen has raised nearly $1 million so far this year. The freshman Republican took in $318,000 in the third quarter of 2009 and had $725,000 in the bank, according to filings with the Federal Election Commission.

Of 435 members of the U.S. House of Representatives, only ten have missed more votes this session than Minnesota Rep. Michele Bachmann, according to the Washington Post’s tally. Bachmann has missed 105 votes, or 13.6 percent of all votes. Fellow Republican Rep. Erik Paulsen had the state’s best record, missing only six votes in the [...]

Two ventures that commodify U.S. Rep. Michele Bachmann are demonstrating just how demanding the market can be in a down economy. The maker of a Bachmann action figure complains they’re not selling like hotcakes — or even like Sarah Palins. And the second issue of a Bachmann-themed comic book undergoes an intense review by a [...]

The Matthew Shepard Hate Crimes Act, attached to a large military policy bill, passed the U.S. House of Representatives on Thursday by a vote of 281 to 146 — with support from Republican Rep. Erik Paulsen and opposition from Democratic Rep. Collin Peterson. Next Monday is the 11th anniversary of the murder of 21-year-old college [...]

Don’t let health care reform put a new tax on med-tech companies. That was the message of a letter sent last week by a bipartisan group of Minnesota members of Congress to U.S. Sen. Max Baucus, chair of the Senate Finance Committee that takes up a reform bill today. But somehow the letter failed to [...]

The U.S. House voted to suspend all federal funding for the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now (ACORN) on Thursday afternoon by a vote of 345 to 75. Now the measure heads to the Senate, which passed a bill banning federal housing monies from going to the embattled nonprofit.

There are a thousand stories in Minnesota’s 850 cities — and in most of them, it seems, City Hall is laying someone off. Winona is cutting its library director along with the school liaison officer and 10 others. Fergus Falls is firing Ranger, the police dog. Austin already cut its crossing guards but now is hiring them [...]

Rep. Tim Walz is adding to the flurry of health care town halls surrounding President Obama’s Saturday visit to Minneapolis to talk about health care. Walz announced Wednesday that he has scheduled a town hall on Saturday at the John Marshall High School Auditorium in Rochester from 12 to 2 pm. Rep. Erik Paulsen also [...]