Minnesota Independent

‘You go, girl!’ Bachmann could raise $52 million in 2012 congressional cycle

By Andy Birkey | 04.19.11 | 8:45 am

The Humphrey Institute’s Smart Politics notes that if Rep. Michele Bachmann’s fundraising pace continues — and if she opts not to run for president — she will raise nearly $52 million by November 2012. That would be a record for a House candidate should her fundraising prowess hold up. In her presidential exploration tour, Bachmann’s been bragging about her fundraising ability, noting that she’s broken the record for fundraising in an election cycle. At a South Carolina Golden Corral restaurant on Saturday she took the news as evidence that a broad section of America is saying to her, “You go girl.”

Pawlenty’s approval rating lowest of his career

By Andy Birkey | 03.08.10 | 8:30 am

A SurveyUSA poll released last week shows Gov. Tim Pawlenty’s approval rating at its lowest level in his career as governor. And that drop in support is happening as Pawlenty works to improve his standing among national Republicans…

Bachmann may say the unthinkable, but she’s ‘unsinkable’

By Chris Steller | 02.26.09 | 10:57 am

In a post (not a battleship) christened “The Unsinkable Michele Bachmann,” the University of Minnesota’s Smart Politics blog predicts the 6th District congresswoman will coast to re-election in 2010, if the 6th District sees only the slightest shift…

Capitol Catchall: Guns, copper thieves and Sen.-elect Franken

By Paul Schmelzer | 02.16.09 | 2:16 pm

Recent goings at the Capitol: Democratic Sen. Amy Klobuchar and Republican Rep. Erik Paulsen introduce a bipartisan bill to hinder copper thieves; Rep. Betty McCollum urges the president to enforce the ban on assault weapon imports; and CNN notes that Al Franken has taken to calling himself “Senator-elect.”

Capitol Catchall: Talking pay freezes, stimulus and Ellison’s mandate

By Paul Schmelzer | 01.30.09 | 3:27 pm

An array of odds and ends about Minnesota-centric action in the early days of the 111th Congress: How our delegates voted on the House stimulus package, prospects for a veto-proof majority for Democrats in the Senate, Rep. Keith Ellison’s “mandate,” and the two congressmen who signed on for pay freezes.

Franken already a 2:1 favorite to win re-election in 2014

By Chris Steller | 01.06.09 | 1:05 pm

Al Franken is taking a scolding in some quarters for declaring victory yesterday after the State Canvassing Board certified that he received 225 more votes than former U.S. Sen. Norm Coleman in Minnesota’s Senate recount. So it’s probably best if he stays off the front steps of his downtown Minneapolis condo today and makes no public comment about this development: A University of Minnesota political scientist has calculated that Franken stands a 67 percent chance of winning re-election to the Senate in 2014 — assuming he ever gets seated in the first place, that is.

MnIndy liveblog: Madia at the Humphrey Institute

By Chris Steller | 10.13.08 | 12:09 pm

DFL candidate Ashwin Madia spoke Monday over the noon hour at the University of Minnesota’s Humphrey Institute, in a Charlie Rose-style dialogue with Prof. Larry Jacobs. Tomorrow, Madia’s Republican opponent in the 3rd district congressional race, state Rep. Erik Paulsen,…