Good morning. November is coming.
Incumbency had its advantages. With a lone exception (read down to the fourth item for that), sitting officeholders fared well in Minnesota’s primary election and party endorsements largely mattered. Rep. Ilhan Omar prevailed in a rematch with Don Samuels, considerably expanding her victory margin. Rep. Michelle Fischbach trounced her Republican opponent, Steve Boyd, despite neither having the party endorsement going into the primary. All other U.S. House incumbents seeking new terms moved on and endorsed challengers also advanced.
In the Senate contest, Democratic incumbent Amy Klobuchar blitzed the field. She topped 300,000 votes — more than nine in 10 cast on that side of the ledger. Her vote tally exceeded the Republican field in total by more than 100,000. Royce White, the former pro basketball player with the GOP endorsement, secured the Republican nomination over a multi-candidate field. Joe Fraser was the favorite of establishment Republicans but finished a distant second. National Republicans have given no indication they’ll put effort or money into the fall race on White’s behalf, which could free up Klobuchar to sink many millions of campaign dollars into turnout efforts for fellow Democrats on the ballot.
The winner-take-all state Senate race is set. In the western metro, former state Sen. Ann Johnson Stewart beat out fellow DFLers Emily Reitan and Kyle Meinen to advance to the special state Senate election in November. She will face Republican Kathleen Fowke. DFL Sen. Kelly Morrison resigned the seat representing the Lake Minnetonka area district to run for Congress. The chamber is split 33-33 between Republicans and Democrats in the meantime with no tie-breaker vote. The special election is expected to draw significant campaign spending because the outcome will determine partisan control of the chamber. And the Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee today announced that it is adding the race to its 2024 target map. The special designation brings more fundraising dollars and a brighter national spotlight on the race.
Six of seven Minnesota House incumbents won their primaries. That includes the longest-serving Republican in the House, Greg Davids, and the lead GOP member on education issues, Rep. Ron Kresha. House Democrats protected their only member to be challenged, Rep. Brion Curran. The one incumbent to fall was Brian Johnson, a six-term Republican from Cambridge and a leading Republican voice in public safety debates. He was toppled by Isanti Mayor James “Jimmy” Gordon. The seat is likely safe for Republicans in November, but a veteran lawmaker won’t be back. Republicans would need to flip four seats to win back the House ahead of the 2025 session.
At a campaign stop in Los Angeles yesterday, Gov. Tim Walz said he’s the first union member on a presidential ticket since Ronald Reagan. He’s wrong. In his first solo campaign stop, Walz gave remarks at the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) union at a convention yesterday afternoon. Walz, who was a union member when he worked as a teacher before launching into politics, said there probably should be more union members in office. But former President Donald Trump was also a union member. Like Reagan, Trump was a member of the Screen Actors Guild until Feb. 2021 after facing potential expulsion for his role in the Jan. 6 insurrection. For what it’s worth, as governor, Walz has overseen a state executive branch with a large number of unionized employees. The latest state data shows 88 percent of the 54,568 state employees belong to a union.
At the union convention, Tim Walz also responded from the stage about his military record, which has come under heavy scrutiny since his addition to the ticket. His past comments that left the impression he served in combat (he didn’t and has said that publicly) have given Republicans an opening to question his military credentials. Walz served 24 years in the Army National Guard before retiring in 2005 ahead of a run for Congress. Walz told the AFSCME crowd , “I’m going to say it again as clearly as I can: I am damn proud of my service to this country,” Walz said. “And I firmly believe you should never degenerate another person’s service record. To anyone brave enough to put on that uniform for our great country, including my opponent, I just have a few simple words: Thank you for your service and sacrifice.” Walz was referring to Ohio Sen. JD Vance, the Republican vice presidential candidate who is a Marine veteran and has accused Walz of stolen valor.
Now that Gov. Tim Walz is a vice presidential candidate, policing policies have been put front and center on the campaign trail. Walz’s response to civil unrest in the days following George Floyd’s murder has become campaign fodder for former President Donald Trump and his vice presidential candidate, U.S. Sen. JD Vance. “Law and order” messaging does pretty well on the campaign trail, but why is that the case even in communities largely unaffected by crime. As part of our Talking Sense series, Catharine Richert spoke with David Squier Jones, a criminologist at the Center for Homicide Research, to find out. You can read and listen to the interview here. | 