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Minnesota


Klobuchar-Franken Moving Up the List of Oldest U.S. Senate Delegations in Minnesota History

By Eric Ostermeier on March 14, 2011
DFL duo will be the ninth oldest delegation from Gopher State at the end of Klobuchar's term in 2013 out of 42 pairings since statehood

Can Mark Dayton Give Barack Obama a Boost in Minnesota in 2012?

By Eric Ostermeier on February 15, 2011
History suggests having a DFLer in St. Paul is unlikely to be a decisive factor, but may be worth +1.4 points to Obama in next year's presidential race

Former Pawlenty Chief of Staff Bob Schroeder to speak at Humphrey School

By Eric Ostermeier on February 7, 2011
Event focuses on keys to successful governorships and what lies ahead for Mark Dayton's administration

No GOP Challenger Yet For Amy Klobuchar? No Problem

By Eric Ostermeier on February 3, 2011
No eventual major party nominee over the last four Minnesota U.S. Senate elections had announced their candidacy at this point in the election cycle

Could Republicans Sweep the Midwest in US Senate Races Again in 2012?

By Eric Ostermeier on January 19, 2011
GOP won nine Senate seats in the region last November for the first time since 1920

Minnesota: More Governors than Vikings Head Coaches Since 1961

By Eric Ostermeier on January 12, 2011
Vikings rank fourth for the longest average coaching tenure in the NFL over the past 50 years; gubernatorial turnover in Gopher State is 25 percent higher than Vikings head coaches

Bachmann's Potential Presidential Pathway Not Well-Trodden

By Eric Ostermeier on January 6, 2011
Only one sitting member of the U.S. House has been elected president in history (Garfield); only three presidents have been elected with U.S. Representative as the highest elected office attained on their resume

History Suggests Leslie Frazier Unlikely to Lead Vikings to Winning Record in 2011

By Eric Ostermeier on January 4, 2011
Only 5 of 41 head coaches in NFC Central Division history have notched a winning record in their first year with the team; only two have made the playoffs

Minnesota's Population Rank Over the Last 100 Years

By Eric Ostermeier on December 23, 2010
The Gopher State has ranked as high as #17 and as low as #21 for population in the U.S. since the 1910 Census

South Dakota Edges Minnesota for Largest Population Growth Rate in Midwest

By Eric Ostermeier on December 22, 2010
South Dakota ends a string of three consecutive decades in which Minnesota led the 12-state region in rate of growth

Minneapolis Projected to End 2010 with 2nd Lowest Number of Homicides in 25 Years

By Eric Ostermeier on December 15, 2010
Despite media cries of a murder rampage in January, the number of homicides in Minneapolis is on pace to tie its second lowest tally since 1986

Upper Midwestern Republicans Reach Five-Decade High in State House Seats

By Eric Ostermeier on December 10, 2010
After the 2010 election, GOP holds 311 of 497 lower chamber seats in IA, MN, ND, SD, and WI (62.2 percent) - the highest level since 1968 election (68.0 percent)

Minnesota GOP Scores 4th Biggest Increase in State House Seats Nationwide

By Eric Ostermeier on December 9, 2010
Only New Hampshire, Alabama, and Michigan gained a larger percentage of House seats in 2010 than Minnesota Republicans (+18.7 percent)

Minnesota Republicans Notch 3rd Biggest Increase in State Senate Seats Nationwide

By Eric Ostermeier on December 8, 2010
Only New Hampshire and South Dakota gained a larger percentage of Senate seats in 2010 than Minnesota GOPers (+23.9 percent)

History Gives Klobuchar a 2 in 3 Chance to Win Reelection in 2012

By Eric Ostermeier on December 2, 2010
10 of 15 freshmen Minnesota U.S. Senators have won reelection to a second term since popular vote contests began 100 years ago

Cravaack Bolsters Military Record of Minnesota's U.S. House Delegation

By Eric Ostermeier on December 1, 2010
With Chip Cravaack's election to Congress, half of Minnesota's 2011 U.S. House delegation has a military background, compared to 36 percent of the 134 U.S. Representatives elected since statehood

Republican Dominance over Upper Midwestern Governorships through the Years

By Eric Ostermeier on November 30, 2010
Republicans have controlled the governor's mansions of IA, MN, ND, SD, and WI for over 72 percent of the time since 1846

Minnesota to Have Only Democratic Upper Midwestern Governor for First Time Since 1954

By Eric Ostermeier on November 24, 2010
Dayton one of four Minnesotan 'lone Democratic wolves' to govern in the five-state region since the Dakotas achieved statehood in 1889

Bachmann Survives Sixth Closest Victory Among 2010 Republican House Incumbents

By Eric Ostermeier on November 18, 2010
Fellow controversial Congressman Joe Wilson (SC-02) at #3; Bachmann had the narrowest victory among GOP incumbents in 2008

Support for Minnesota GOP US House Candidates Rises 22 Percent in 2010

By Eric Ostermeier on November 11, 2010
Support increases across all eight districts for Republicans; cumulative vote for DFLers falls below 48 percent for just the 3rd time in six decades

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Political Crumbs

Curse of the '4'?

May 22, 2013

Big-name Republicans are not coming out of the woodwork yet to challenge Al Franken in Minnesota's 2014 U.S. Senate race, and there is not much chatter of the GOP picking off one of the five DFL-held U.S. House seats either. Over the last century, Minnesota Republican U.S. House candidates have not fared all that well in cycles ending in '4' - losing seats in five of these cycles (1914, 1924, 1944, 1954, 1974), holding serve in four others (1964, 1984, 1994, 2004), and gaining seats just one time (1934, after redistricting had been delayed one cycle with all nine seats voted at-large in 1932). Perhaps the Republican Party's best chance for a pick up in the Gopher State in 2014 is if 12-term Democrat Collin Peterson retires after nearly a quarter century on Capitol Hill. The 7th CD has the second largest GOP lean in the state.


Seasoned Senators in Wisconsin

May 2, 2013

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.


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