| Faith leaders in Minnesota from a range of backgrounds are trying to build bridges at a time of intense political polarization. A group of faith leaders convened last week at the Minnesota Mutlifaith Network annual conference. The group shared wisdom and ideas on how to navigate the fraught political landscape. Event organizers say they hope their interfaith community can work more closely with local governments to bring people together. For Talking Sense, Catharine Richert compiled some of the remarks about how to address the current political moment. Read them here.
Kamala Harris’ campaign burned through $1.5 billion in just 15 weeks. In the days that follow Harris’ loss to President-elect Donald Trump, the campaign has faced questions and scrutiny over how they spent their campaign warchest, the New York Times reports . Supporters have reported the Harris campaign has pressed them for more cash since the election. The biggest expense during the race was advertising, but her campaign was narrowly outspent by Trump’s campaign in broadcast advertising in October. The Harris campaign also made some questionable campaign spending decisions including $900,000 to advertise on the exterior of the Sphere in Las Vegas. It also made a significant investment in celebrity-fueled events with Lady Gaga, Beyonce and more. While the entertainers themselves were not compensated, their support staff was. The overall bill for the election eve rallies held in a few battleground states reportedly topped $10 million, according to campaign finance disclosures.
Speaking of Democratic messaging, Minnesota DFL Party Chair Ken Martin penned a Fox News op-ed on how Democrats can reconnect with voters. Martin wrote that while Democratic policies are popular, voters don’t connect those ideas to the Democratic Party. He argued that the DFL policy accomplishments in Minnesota (which includes paid family leave, free school meals and investments in affordable housing) are the reason Democrats have been able to continue its streak of winning statewide. “It’s one of the reasons we have won every statewide election in the last 14 years,” wrote Martin. “We have made it easier for the working class to afford their lives.” The op-ed is timely given that Martin’s name has surfaced on a short list of candidates considered to be the next Democratic National Committee Chair. The next party leader will face a wide range of challenges including fundraising when their party doesn’t control the White House or Congress, political messaging in a fragmented media environment, dealing with party uncertainty after Trump defeated Harris and sketching a convincing pathway forward for Democrats.
Wisconsin Republican Senate candidate Eric Hovde conceded defeat to Democratic U.S. Senator Tammy Baldwin Monday. Hovde could have requested a recount because his margin of defeat was less than one percent (roughly 29,000 votes). Hovde, who would have had to foot the bill for the recount, said he did not want to “add to political strife through a contentious recount.” The AP called the race for Baldwin on Nov. 6.
Election officials across the state will spend the week spot-checking election results. I spent yesterday morning at Hennepin County’s post-election review, where roughly two dozen election judges are hand counting more than 23,000 ballots from randomly-selected precincts to ensure the count generated by election machines was accurate. That process is expected to take two days. The process is part of a long-standing state law to ensure the election equipment squares up with hand counts. Apparently, discrepancies are few and far between. The State Canvassing Board is scheduled to meet Thursday to certify election results. | 