House Democratic leaders have been working hard on behalf of Democratic challengers, showering them with money and personal attention to expand their majority and to curry favor with future colleagues. Here in Minnesota, Ashwin Madia is the beneficiary of their campaigning.
If state Rep. Erik Paulsen loses his race to replace retiring 3rd District U.S. Rep. Jim Ramstad, it will be the second straight election cycle in which a former staffer fails to succeed the veteran Minnesota congressman he served, despite his mentor’s endorsement. Coattails that once withstood even party-endorsement snubs now appear too tattered to pull proteges into office.
Three things happened Tuesday in the race for Minnesota’s 3rd District congressional seat: News broke that the National Republican Congressional Committee had canceled ad buys for state Rep. Erik Paulsen’s campaign. The seat’s current occupant,…
U.S. Rep. Rahm Emanuel, D-Ill., came to the Twin Cities today to support DFL congressional candidate Ashwin Madia in his bid to replace retiring Republican 3rd District U.S. Rep. Jim Ramstad. Emanuel lavished praise on Madia as the sort of practical politician who would be welcomed in the House Democratic caucus, which Emanuel leads. Both are sons of immigrants, with names that not everyone can spell, who in the course of their congressional campaigns have been called “carpetbagger.” In a separate press conference across town today, Ramstad himself assailed Madia and Democratic groups supporting him for engaging in “gutter politics.”
MnIndy video and more after the jump.
Nine Minnesotans made Forbes’ richest Americans list this year. Most of them are peeling off small-fractions of their wealth to support political parties and candidates for national office–shoveling a total of $245,000 into the game since Election Day 2006. A little number crunching turns up a few surprises, like conservative broadcasting magnate Stanley Hubbard giving more to Senator Amy Klobuchar than he did to Norm Coleman.
Is the Republican Party of Minnesota unaware of current demographics in the West Metro congressional district it has held for 50 years? U.S. Census data suggests that the suburban-identity politics that Republicans advanced last week writes off a third or more of the 3rd district’s residents.
Rep. Keith Ellison surprised (and angered) many constituents when he voted for the $700 billion bailout package on Monday. But the North Minneapolis legislator argues that the measure is direly needed. “It’s very tempting for me to say I’m not quote unquote bailing out Wall Street,” says Ellison, speaking on the phone from Washington. “Who wants to bail out Wall Street? Nobody. But Wall Street is not completely disconnected from main street.”
The Rothenberg Political Report has dropped Minnesota’s First Congressional District from its list of competitive House races. This means it believes freshman Democratic Rep. Tim Walz is in little danger of losing his re-election bid. Previously Rothenberg had…
The U.S. House of Representatives rejected the proposed $700 billion bailout of the financial sector this afternoon by a 228-205 margin. The opposition was bipartisan, with 95 Democrats joining 133 Republicans in opposing the bill.
The Minnesota delegation was…
Rep. Michele Bachmann was the only member of the Minnesota delegation to vote against legislation requiring health-insurance companies to treat mental illnesses the same as physical ailments. The Sen. Paul Wellstone Mental Health Equitable Treatment Act passed the House…
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