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Minnesota


Bachmann's Narrow Victory in 2008 Did Not Curb Conservative Voting Record in 2009

Congresswoman followed up the narrowest victory for a GOP U.S. House incumbent in 2008 with the 28th most conservative voting record

Tom Emmer's Voter ID Amendment Lures 11 DFLers, Fails 73-58

Many of the 11 DFL defectors represent vulnerable House districts; Norm Coleman carried nine of these districts in 2008, including eight by double digits

Minnesota Republicans Look to End 10-Year Vote Skid in House Races in 2010

Votes for GOP House candidates statewide have gradually fallen each election cycle from 52 to 43 percent over the last ten years

Klobuchar and Franken to Get Boost in Senate Seniority After 2010 Election

Gopher State delegation currently has second lowest collective seniority in the U.S. Senate

Pawlenty Prepares Veto #101 for Health Care Bill

Governor begins 8th year in office with 100 vetoes under his belt and a policy agenda undaunted by large DFL legislative majorities

Minnesota's GOP U.S. Representatives Launching Aggressive Media Campaign in 2010; DFLers Shying Away

Bachmann, Kline, and Paulsen issuing nearly twice as many press releases in 2010 as Gopher State's DFL Representatives

Minnesota Ranks 10th in Nation in Campaign Contributions Per Congressional District in 2009

South Carolina tops list at $1.6 million per district with Minnesota 10th at $983,029; candidates in Northeastern congressional districts receiving the most money overall

A Content Analysis of Governor Pawlenty's 2010 State of the State Address

Governor's focus on jobs in speech up more than threefold from 2009 Address despite yearly drop in unemployment

Bachmann's Election 2010 Out of State Fundraising Fueled by Democratic States

Conservative Congresswoman's large donor out of state individual fundraising for 2009 was 33 percent higher per capita in blue states than in red states

Pawlenty Proposal to Get Tough on Sex Offenders Likely to Have Huge Public Support

Previous polling suggests Minnesota residents back various tougher penalties on sex offenders by greater than 3:1 margins

Bachmann 2010 Election Fundraising Effort Outpacing '08 by 32 Percent

Small donor contributions to Bachmann soar by 355 percent compared to two years ago while special interest PAC money declines 51 percent

Why Minnesota Democrats Should Be Thankful Tim Pawlenty Is Not Running for Reelection

Republican gubernatorial incumbents in Minnesota have won 93 percent of reelection defenses since statehood (25 of 27), while losing 70 percent of open seat contests over the past century

Minnesota GOP Caucus Gubernatorial Straw Poll Voter Turnout Up Over 20 Percent from 2002

Despite the characterization that caucus night was a quiet night for Republicans in some media reports, GOP turnout nonetheless increased by more than 20 percent since the last time the party was searching for its gubernatorial nominee back in 2002

To the 'Losers' of the 2010 Minnesota Gubernatorial Straw Polls...

Tim Pawlenty, finished in 2nd place out of 3 candidates in the 2002 Republican gubernatorial straw poll

What's In a Name? Could Scrabble Scores Determine Minnesota's Next Governor?

Gubernatorial candidates with longer names and names with letters totaling higher Scrabble tile values are nearly twice as likely to win general election races throughout Minnesota history

Mike Parry Fends Off Critics, Engbrecht, and Srp to Hold 26th Senate District for GOP

Tri-County District split support among the three candidates; Roy Srp turns in best State Senate performance for IP since 2002

GOP Has Historically Thrived in Minnesota State Senate Special Elections

Despite recent losses, Republican Party has notched a substantially better record in State Senate special elections than the DFL

Will Republicans Win Murphy's Open 28th Senate District Seat?

Retirement of Senator Steve Murphy Puts DFL Seat in play again for the GOP in '10

Wisconsin-Minnesota Unemployment Gap Biggest in 22+ Years

Badger State continues to endure biggest jobs crisis in the Upper Midwest during current recession

Minnesota's Unemployment Rate Stays Flat in December

Minnesota's seasonally adjusted unemployment rate remained at 7.4 percent in December 2009 - unchanged from November



Political Crumbs

Seasoned Senators in Wisconsin

Of the 15 men and women that have served in the U.S. Senate from Wisconsin since popular vote elections were introduced a century ago, Ron Johnson and Tammy Baldwin rank among the oldest upon first entering the chamber. Johnson began his tenure at the age of 55 years, 8 months, and 26 days in January 2011, which is the oldest of any elected Wisconsin Senator during this popular vote era. The next oldest, Alexander Wiley, was more than one year younger when he took his seat in 1939 (54 years, 7 months, 8 days). Tammy Baldwin comes in at #6 being 50 years, 10 months, and 23 days when she took office in January of this year. The youngest elected Senator from the Badger State was Robert La Follette, Jr. at 30 years, 7 months, and 24 days (1925) when he took the seat of his legendary deceased father.


Party Like It's 1986?

Tim Johnson's retirement opens up an opportunity for Republicans to gain control of both U.S. Senate seats in South Dakota for the first time since the convening of the 100th Congress in January 1987 (Tom Daschle ousted incumbent GOPer James Abdnor in the 1986 election). South Dakota is currently tied with Nevada and Washington for the 22nd longest streak in the nation since Republicans held both Senate seats at 26+ years. Neighboring North Dakota has the 13th longest streak (August 1960) with three states last seeing a GOP hold on both seats in the 1800s: Louisiana (November 1872), Florida (March 1875), and Arkansas (March 1885).


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