| Despite being on the ballot herself, U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar is devoting her campaign time and resources to lifting other Democrats. Mark Zdechlik reports many Minnesota Democrats are banking on Klobuchar to boost their ticket around the state. Why? Because it’s been that way every other election she’s run in. In 2006, Democrats grabbed up 19 more seats in the House. In 2012, it was a 12-seat gain and last time — 2018 — Democrats picked up 20 seats. All three times Klobuchar has been on the ballot, the DFL flipped chamber control from Republicans. Klobuchar has an 11-point lead over her challenger she barely acknowledges, Republican Royce White, and she had a $6.5 million campaign stockpile through July (almost 125 more times than White).
Speaking of, Klobuchar and Republican challenger Royce White have agreed to debate. The debate will be hosted by WCCO Radio on Oct. 27 at 9 a.m. and moderated by Blois Olson. Although White has repeatedly said he will debate Klobuchar any time and any place, Klobuchar doesn’t appear eager to share a stage with him. She has seldom mentioned him by name.
Will a VP nominee visit break a Gopher curse against the Wolverines? Gov. Tim Walz is headed to the Michigan-Minnesota matchup in Ann Arbor on Saturday, where he'll be speaking to students as Minnesota tries to bring home the Little Brown Jug trophy (it’s only been in Gopher hands four times in the last 50 years, gripe these Gopher alums). Walz will visit a voter registration event in the morning before heading to the game. The campaign, which has heavily promoted Walz’s past as a high school football coach, says the visit is part of the Harris-Walz campaign’s efforts to reach younger voters. Both Michigan and the youth vote are pivotal for both parties. Former President Donald Trump’s campaign has invested in influencers and other efforts to attract young voters.
New York City mayor Eric Adams has been indicted on federal conspiracy, wire fraud and bribery charges. He’s due to be arraigned today. The charges accuse the mayor of taking illegal campaign contributions and bribes from foreign nationals, including lavish overseas trips, in exchange for favors that included helping Turkish officials bypass a fire safety inspection for a new diplomatic tower in the city. The five-count indictment outlines a decade-long trail of corruption that began when he served as an elected official in Brooklyn and continued through his time as mayor. Adams says he won't resign.
The city of Duluth is investigating reports of involvement of Mayor Roger Reinart’s girlfriend in city affairs. Recent reports and emails obtained by the Duluth Monitor detail how Reinert’s campaign manager and girlfriend Amber Gurske has been involved with recent city affairs. Gurske issued directives to city staff, asking Duluth’s public information officer to research an issue for a possible social media post and also suggested several different ideas for other posts. Gurske also asked an assistant about the nature of a meeting in which Reienert was taking part and asked to have an event added to Reinert’s schedule. In a social media video posted Wednesday, Reinert said, “I would never intentionally — or ask anyone else — to do something that negatively impacts this office or the City of Duluth organization.” Reinert said the internal review will be conducted to ensure that everything was done in a correct, legal and ethically.
Democrats were more flush with cash in the most recent campaign reports and might be getting more padding. The Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee said Thursday it will toss $500,000 more into the effort to keep the Minnesota House in DFL hands. If that’s a new investment and not one already in the bank, that will bring the DLCC to $1.35 million for the cycle. The Republican State Leadership Committee has put $550,000 into a few groups working to elect Minnesota Republicans. Meanwhile, the DFL’s top state donor isn’t holding back. Philanthropist and longtime big giver Alida Messinger is up to $1.83 million this year to Democratic party funds and allied groups.
Some early early voting stats are in. The Secretary of State’s office notes that 431,502 applications for mail-in ballots have been submitted. Of that, 32,788 of those have been returned and marked accepted. For a ballot to count, a local election office must receive it by Election Day. So leave time for the mail or delivery service to get that ballot back in time. | 