Good morning, and happy Wednesday.
Gov. Tim Walz made his first public comments Tuesday about his likely Republican opponent in November. Walz said he worked with former state Sen. Scott Jensen on some issues at the Capitol, including affordable insulin and gun restrictions. He said that Jensen has changed on guns. (Jensen apologized at the GOP state convention for signing on to a bill that would have expanded background checks for gun purchases) Walz said he doesn't think the Republican-endorsed candidate will succeed by dividing Minnesotans. "Compromise is a virtue, not a vice. And I continue to say that and I think you're seeing that play out in Minnesota — no shutdowns, good budgets, working together, getting compromises. It becomes very difficult when you don't just disagree with people, you're threatening to jail them, you're threatening to criminalize them,” Walz said. “The words you speak and the actions you take can't be misaligned. And I think that's a really important piece of this, because it's very hard to govern if you burn the house down." Walz will accept his party's endorsement for a second term at the DFL state convention in Rochester on Friday.
Republican Doug Wardlow said Tuesday he will run in the August primary for Minnesota attorney general. Wardlow is a former state legislator who was the GOP candidate in 2018 and lost to Democrat Keith Ellison. He lost his bid for the Republican endorsement to political newcomer Jim Schultz at the state convention last week. In a video announcing his primary run , Wardlow called Ellison “the most extreme far left radical attorney general in the country.” He said Schultz is “a creature of the RINO swamp” who lied and rigged the game to win the endorsement. RINO of course means Republican in name only. “My Republican opponents have no name recognition. They have no experience fighting for our God-given rights in court. They are unqualified and unelectable,” Wardlow said. Schulz responded by noting that Wardlow had repeatedly promised to abide by the party’s endorsement. "Through a hard-fought campaign, I always stated that I respect Doug Wardlow. With his announcement, Doug has lost my respect and that of the hundreds of thousands of Republican Party faithful who took him at his word,” Schultz said in a statement. ”There is nothing more representative of the establishment swamp than a career politician who fails to honor his promises. Doug has now lost three consecutive elections. Should he move forward with his plans, we will make it four consecutive elections in August.” The Republican Party of Minnesota said it will defend Schultz’s endorsement and Wardlow should end his campaign. "Not only did Doug Wardlow publicly commit to abiding by the party’s endorsement, Wardlow promised the MNGOP Nominations Committee that he would abide by the party’s endorsement,” said Mike Lonergan, the party’s executive director in a statement. “At the time, we assumed Doug Wardlow to be sincere, but sadly it seems it was an empty promise.” Former state Rep. Dennis Smith had said he would run in the Republican primary for attorney general, but he dropped out of the race Tuesday night and said he would support Schultz.
It’s still slow going as lawmakers try to agree how to put meat on the bones of that agreement to end the legislative session. MPR News' Tim Pugmire reports negotiations stumbled on a public safety bill in that conference committee. The Senate made a proposal following Monday’s announcement by Gov. Walz and legislative leaders that a framework for an end of session deal had been reached. The offer looked a lot like the bill passed by the Senate weeks ago. House DFL Public Safety Chair Carlos Mariani predicted that leadership will soon step in. “They will do better than what I see shaping up here right now,” he said. Mariani’s counterpart in the negotiations, Republican Sen. Warren Limmer, urged the House to put forward its own offer. “Mr. Chairman, do you have an offer?” Limmer asked. “Do you have a global offer? After all, we only have five, six days.” Negotiators have a $450 million budget target for public safety. Lawmakers have until midnight Sunday to agree on and pass bills. Senate Majority Leader Jeremy Miller told reporters Tuesday afternoon that he and House Speaker Melissa Hortman will take over negotiating today or tomorrow if conference committees are stuck.
The city of Minneapolis will pay $1.5 million to a man who accused police officers of using excessive force during an arrest in 2020.MPR’s Matt Sepic reports the incident occurred during the unrest which followed the May 2020 police killing of George Floyd. Police fired a foam marking round without warning which struck Jaleel Stallings, who fired a handgun in return. Video shows Stallings surrendered as soon as he realized he fired at police. Officers punched and kicked Stallings while he was on the ground, his gun out of reach. Stallings was arrested and charged with attempted murder. A jury last summer found him not guilty of the charges. Stallings filed a federal lawsuit contending that police not only used excessive force, but that they also lied in their reports that he’d been resisting arrest. According to court documents filed Tuesday, the city has also agreed to pay attorney's fees which will be determined later.
State Auditor Julie Blaha won’t appear at the upcoming DFL state party convention because she has tested positive for COVID-19. She said she’ll appear by video and speak to delegates by phone. Blaha is running for a second term and was due to be endorsed by DFL delegates. Republicans have chosen attorney Ryan Wilson as their candidate for State Auditor. Blaha said her symptoms are mild, but she will be isolated for at least five days from Tuesday's positive test. She also noted to MPR’s Brian Bakst yesterday that she is the last of the state’s constitutional officers to test positive for COVID. | 