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Reps. Chip Cravaack and Michele Bachmann, Sen. Al Franken

Bachmann, Cravaack and Franken delay financial disclosures

By Jon Collins | 07.22.11 | 10:08 am

Three lawmakers from Minnesota have requested extensions for filing mandated financial disclosure reports. The reports, by Rep. Michele Bachmann, Rep. Chip Cravaack and Sen. Al Franken, will now be due on Aug. 12. It’s the second extension each of the three have requested since the original June deadline.

DFL: Bachmann ad violates campaign laws

By Andy Birkey | 09.14.10 | 8:50 am

The Minnesota DFL sent a letter to Minnesota television stations alleging that Rep. Michele Bachmann’s latest ad featuring “Jim the Election Guy” violated campaign ad laws by not having a disclaimer at the end of the ad…

Norm Coleman can’t run for governor with recount cash

By Chris Steller | 01.15.10 | 5:35 pm

If Norm Coleman runs for governor of Minnesota, it won’t be with money left over from the record-setting U.S. Senate campaign against Al Franken.

Conservative PAC wants to trump state’s right to ban robocalls

By Andy Birkey | 11.09.09 | 9:13 pm

So much for states’ rights: Iowa-based American Future Fund wants the Federal Elections Commission to rule against Minnesota’s long-standing ban on robocalls in order to include Minnesota in its national robocall campaigns, the Star Tribune reports. The group, which…

Paulsen pulls in more than $300,000 in third quarter

By Paul Demko | 10.15.09 | 10:24 am

PaulsenU.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.

Legal bills aside, parties’ Coleman-Franken payouts at near-equal trickle

By Chris Steller | 08.25.09 | 5:44 pm

franken colemanThe Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee (DSCC) covered $500,000 of U.S. Sen. Al Franken’s recount-related legal costs last month, the Associated Press reports. The National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC) already made its big payout ($938,000) to former Sen. Norm Coleman’s…

FEC rules for Coleman on DFL complaint of coordinated ads

By Chris Steller | 07.07.09 | 5:31 pm

Two outside organizations and Norm Coleman’s re-election campaign illegally coordinated advertising that aided Coleman via a political consultant they all shared, the Minnesota DFL Party charged in a complaint to the Federal Elections Commission (FEC).
No, they didn’t, the…

Election commissioners: Coleman campaign can pay his lawsuit costs

By Chris Steller | 06.25.09 | 2:46 pm

The Federal Election Commission gave former Sen. Norm Coleman wide berth to spend money raised for his campaign on costs associated with civil lawsuits in which he’s not even a party.

FEC: Coleman can’t pay all legal bills with campaign cash

By Chris Steller | 06.18.09 | 4:53 pm

Norm Coleman may not dip into his campaign coffers to cover all his expenses stemming from lawsuits and other complaints that allege misconduct by him or his donors. That’s the upshot of draft advisory opinions issued Thursday by the Federal Election Commission.

FEC OKs Palin spending spree that started at Minneapolis Neiman-Marcus

By Chris Steller | 05.19.09 | 4:31 pm

A clothes-shopping spree that Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin started in Minnesota didn’t break the law, in the opinion of the Federal Election Commission, even though it was paid for by the GOP.