Good morning. I hope you're enjoying summer, which apparently started earlier than any time since George Washington was president.
A congressional race in Minnesota’s 5th District has a different feel than the same primary matchup two years ago. Democratic incumbent Ilhan Omar, seeking a fourth term, faces former Minneapolis City Council member Don Samuels. As Clay Master reports , Omar is spending more time touting her record in the district — stressing the federal money she’s helped land for community projects and hosting regular town halls. And she’s deploying some of the $2.2 million campaign stockpile as she leaves little to chance, dwarfing what Samuels has available this time around. While Omar tries to put the focus on more-local matters, Samuels has highlighted her comments about the war in Gaza, hoping to cast her as a divisive figure on the issue. The primary is Aug. 13.
Early voting ahead of the Aug. 13 primary starts a week from today. Expect to hear plenty of promotion from election officials, candidates and their parties. Yes, even Republicans will push people to vote early this year despite some pushback from those in the party who see absentee voting as suspect and in-person Election Day voting as superior.
Don’t expect an end to the whispers that Joe Biden, Donald Trump or both will abandon ship prior to the election even if that possibility seems remote. MinnPost’s Ana Radelat entertains that hypothetical to explain what would happen if either major party loses its nominee ahead of the election. The Minnesota Secretary of State’s office told her that it would surely prompt court action to decide what happens to ballots if a vacancy occurs after the Sept. 20 start to early voting in the general election.
Nobody told Rep. Brad Finstad they’d be taking attendance. The Star Tribune’s Washington correspondent Sydney Kashiwagi writes that the 1st Congressional District Republican is getting some questions from members of the GOP for not attending former President Donald Trump’s campaign fundraiser in Minnesota last month. Finstad’s top adviser swatted down the notion that Finstad is disloyal, noting that the lawmaker has endorsed Trump and enjoys Trump’s endorsement, too. Finstad served in an agricultural department role in Trump’s administration. Finstad faces a nominal primary challenge this August and his race so far isn’t among the top contests nationwide or in Minnesota.
Bipartisanship is a big talking point come election time, but how prevalent is it in practice? The group Majority in the Middle took a stab at answering that in relation to the Minnesota Legislature’s session. Its 295 page report is chock full of statistics on how much lawmakers reach across the aisle in sponsoring bills or majority-party hearings on minority-party bills. Most lawmakers have signed onto at least one bill with a member of the other party and some committees do better than others in airing bills regardless of party sponsorship. Read the report here if you want to find out how your legislators stack up. | 