Good morning and welcome to Thursday. Many in Minnesota and around the country and world were still reacting to the election results Wednesday. There are some new realities sinking in. And that’s where we’ll start the Digest.
1. Gov. Mark Dayton says he’s willing to work with the new Republican Legislature, but only to a point. With two years left in his term Dayton had hoped to end divided government at the state Capitol by helping his fellow Democrats win a majority in the House, but the voters had other plans. Not only did Republicans keep control of the House, but the Senate also flipped to Republicans (pending the outcome of two recounts). Now Dayton says he wants to push ahead on fixing the state’s health insurance market but conceded it was unrealistic to think “peace and harmony” will reign in divided state government. (MPR News)
2. Donald Trump’s win and the new Republican majorities at the state Capitol have the future of both the Affordable Care Act and Minnesota’s MNsure in doubt. Trump has pledged to repeal Obamacare but has offered few details of what he would do beyond that. That’s creating a lot of uncertainty about health care policy. And Republican House Speaker Kurt Daudt and Gov. Mark Dayton haven’t agreed even on a short term fix for spiking insurance premiums for some people in Minnesota. (MPR News)
3. Republican Jason Lewis will be the one new face in Minnesota’s congressional delegation come January. Lewis defeated Democrat Angie Craig for the open seat in the 2nd District. Lewis says he believes Trump’s win in some states that had previously supported Democrats shows he has a mandate, and he says Republicans will act on health care and federal spending. (MPR News)
4. In his victory speech Trump said he wanted to unite the country. In her concession speech Hillary Clinton urged her supporters to accept Trump as president. "We owe him an open mind and a chance to lead," she said. But on Wednesday morning some immigrants, Muslims and others who felt that Trump targeted them during the campaign were worried. (MPR News).
5. After Asian markets fell overnight Tuesday, the U.S. financial markets rallied Wednesday. Some of the experts say they expect the stock market to be volatile until people get a handle of what President Trump might do on the economy. (CNBC)
6. We’ll probably see a lot of stories like this over the next few days. How did Trump pull off his improbable win? From the beginning his camp saw Hillary Clinton as overly cautious and the personification of a Washington establishment that people don’t like and don’t trust. The Clinton camp recognized that Trump represented change, but they thought they could convince voters it was the wrong kind of change. (Washington Post)
