A revision to a post yesterday after the quirk was fixed in state campaign finance data: More than $25.3 million went into independent expenditures this year. The money was deployed in the battle for the state House (voters split it 67-67) and a single open state Senate seat (it retained a DFL majority). More than $19 million of that was spent in just a dozen races. Here were the top targets, with the winner designated by an asterisk.
Race | DFL | GOP | Amount | 3B | Mark Munger | Natalie Zeleznikar* | $2,031,353 | 41A | Lucia Wroblewski | Wayne Johnson* | $1,952,356 | 35B | Kari Rehrauer* | Steve Pape | $1,916,783 | 18A | Jeff Brand | Erica Schwartz* | $1,767,281 | 48B | Lucy Rehm* | Caleb Steffenhagen | $1,668,532 | 35A | Zack Stephenson* | Josh Jungling | $1,651,225 | 14B | Dan Wolgamott* | Sue Ek | $1,534,301 | 26A | Sara Kruger | Aaron Repinski* | $1,407,862 | 41B | Jen Fox | Tom Dippel* | $1,383,548 | 54A | Brad Tabke* | Aaron Paul | $1,382,873 | SD45 | Ann Johnson Stewart* | Kathleen Fowke | $1,347,669 | 32B | Matt Norris* | Alex Moe | $1,245,944 |
Minnesota Republican Party leaders are rolling out recall petitions for the 66 Democratic representatives in the state House . Party Chair Alex Plechash said the party is gathering signatures to recall the DFLers because they’ve not shown up to the Capitol for the first three weeks of the legislative session. “It's time to restore accountability to Minnesota's government, and it starts today,” he said. Democrats are boycotting over disagreements with Republicans about how to lead the chamber and whether DFL Rep. Brad Tabke should be seated. It’s the first step in a lengthy process that could take months to ultimately yield a recall election. A DFL Party spokesperson called the petitions a “stunt” by Republicans and said it “shows how desperate they have become after the courts struck down their unlawful power grab and ruled that Rep. Table was duly elected by Shakopee voters.”
Diversity, equity and inclusion programs and policies are getting removed from federal government agencies in swift fashion under President Donald Trump, but they’re very much still in play in Minnesota government. Clay Masters looked into the way that state DFL leaders are leaning into DEI efforts at a time when they are at the center of political discourse in Washington. Some agencies are actively recruiting for DEI roles and one agency has a request for vendors to help structure a strategic plan. Gov. Tim Walz and Attorney General Keith Ellison spoke about DEI at a Capitol event this week. So far, Republicans aren’t making a concerted Trump-style push to upend those initiatives in Minnesota, but that could certainly change.
Gov. Tim Walz kept up his criticism of President Donald Trump’s administration and continues to needle Elon Musk while trying to provoke both in the powerful tandem. On social media, Walz has gotten huge amount of interaction on an X post (the service owned by Musk) that said “Elon Musk is a terrible president.” Predictably, he’s being called a sore loser, but there are also people cheering on the sentiment that Musk has been given too much latitude by Trump. At an official event yesterday, Walz framed Trump as a “chaos” president. Walz said the U.S. is jeopardizing its relationships with key trading partners with threats of tariffs even if Trump doesn't follow through. “You start a house on fire and throw a bucket of water on it. You're not the hero. Just to be clear on this, you start a trade war and then pull it off when you get nothing from it that the other countries have already implemented. That's not leadership, and right now, this throwing chaos up to two of our closest allies, is simply not what we need.” There is little doubt Walz is working to stay in the national political picture after his bid for vice president fell short.
Potential cannabis business owners can circle Feb. 18 on their calendars. That’s when the state Office of Cannabis Management will begin accepting license applications for a range of market entry points – 10 in all. There are cultivators, manufacturers, retailers, testing facilities, delivery services and more. Not everyone who qualifies will get a license. For areas where licenses are capped at a certain amount, there will be lotteries held, including rounds open to verified social equity applicants only. The timing of those is still up in the air. The application stage is open until March 14. |
