Mike Hatch

Beltway pundit Stu Rothenberg has released his latest assessment of 2010 gubernatorial races. He gives a narrow advantage to the Minnesota GOP if Tim Pawlenty opts to run for a third term. But will Pawlenty risk a third run that could endanger his national ambitions while offering little upside? Arguably, the only reason he survived [...]

After a tough 2006 electoral battle in which Democrat Ken Tschumper prevailed over incumbent Gregory Davids, the opponents will face off again this year. It is perhaps the most intriguing rematch of the electoral season, but it’s far from the only one. There are at least seven other competitive state House contests that pit foes against each other for a second — or even third — time.

Stanley and Karen Hubbard are in a league of their own when it comes to political contributions. In the first 18 months of this election cycle the couple doled out $163,500 to federal political candidates and causes — $40,000 more than the next most generous Minnesota household. Republicans have largely been the beneficiaries of their largesse, with more than 80 percent of that money ending up in GOP coffers.

Who occupies the other nine slots in Minnesota’s Top 10 political donors? Click inside to see.

Two independent radio stations at colleges in two separate states, both sought by one buyer: Minnesota Public Radio.

Advocates for both stations ask their state attorneys general to investigate whether the prospective sales violate laws governing charitable trusts, the structure under which the stations raise funds from donors.

Last month, Florida’s AG agreed to examine whether MPR’s [...]

In 2006 Gov. Tim Pawlenty defied the political odds. Despite wide gains by Democrats in state legislative races, a resounding victory by Amy Klobuchar in the U.S. Senate race and a sweep of the other state constitutional offices, Pawlenty outpolled Mike Hatch by just 22,000 votes to retain the governorship.

Of course, he was helped by [...]

I voted for Lori Swanson in last year’s primary for attorney general, and later in the general election.  I thought she represented new blood, something the DFL perennially lacks.  More than that, I was impressed by her firm grasp of what was going on in the office of the attorney general.  In her previous job [...]

Former Minnesota Attorney General Mike Hatch has resigned from his position in the attorney general’s office, according to news reports.

Hatch, who served two terms as attorney general before an unsuccessful 2006 gubernatorial run on the DFL ticket, had been working on special litigation projects under new Attorney General Lori Swanson, a DFLer who had been [...]

Attorney General Lori Swanson (DFL-Eagan) will keep her predecessor, Mike Hatch, on in the Attorney General’s office, according to a report by Minnesota Public Radio.

Hatch, a fellow DFLer who unsuccessfully challenged Gov. Tim Pawlenty in 2006, will oversee a new team focusing on complex litigation, according to Swanson.  His title and compensation have not yet [...]

By this point many have heard that Bob “Swiftboat” Perry donated $500,000 of the $800,000 raised by the A Stronger America – Minnesota group.  What people don’t seem to realize is that the Swiftboat group was recently fined nearly $300,000 for illegal contributions:
more inside

Some people on the right are a little overeager to rip apart Mike Hatch’s latest ad (and with the polls going the way they are, I can see why), but their overzealousness may become a source of embarrassment if they’re not a little more careful.  With that thought in mind, let’s take a look at [...]