Good Tuesday morning. Here’s your Digest.
1. Lawmakers propose taking primary ballot access out of party hands. Minnesota DFL lawmakers are studying legislation to open access to presidential primary ballots after the Minnesota Republican Party excluded rivals to President Donald Trump from the state’s March 2020 GOP primary. Trump was the only candidate submitted to the Minnesota Secretary of State by GOP party chairwoman Jennifer Carnahan last month even though there are at least three other Republican candidates running active campaigns for the Republican nomination. Coming under criticism from Democrats as well as some Republicans, Carnahan has since said the party will allow for write-in candidates. On Monday, state Reps. Jamie Long and Raymond Dehn — both Democrats from Minneapolis — said they will introduce legislation in February that would allow candidates to be listed in presidential primaries if they file an affidavit and pay a fee, reverting to the process the state used until it switched to a caucus system after the 1992 presidential primaries. Star Tribune
2. A conversation with Craig. Democratic Rep. Angie Craig took office in January of this year, after narrowly defeating Republican incumbent Rep. Jason Lewis in the 2018 elections. Her win flipped Minnesota’s 2nd District, which had been represented by Republicans since 2001. So, it’s no surprise that the Republican National Committee began targeting the freshman congresswoman last month, spending $330,000 on television ads to say she “votes with the radicals” and “wastes taxpayer money” by supporting the impeachment inquiry into President Trump. Craig says it’s true that she voted in favor of the impeachment investigation. But she insists that’s just a small portion of what she’s doing in Washington — and what her constituents are concerned about. MPR News
3. Stauber reaches across aisle to get bill passed. Why would a freshman Republican congressman work with one of GOP’s primary targets for 2020? U.S. Rep. Pete Stauber has not tried to buck his party on pivotal issues like health care or immigration. But unlike his two Republican colleagues in the House, the Eighth District congressman has worked closely on legislation with Democratic Rep. Angie Craig. Craig, who represents Minnesota’s Second District, is a top target for House Republicans in 2020. Also unlike his two Republican colleagues, Stauber is the only Republican in the Minnesota delegation this Congress to have a bill pass the House. MinnPost
4. GOP eagerly eyes chances in 7th District. Democratic Rep. Collin Peterson has a long track record over his 28-year tenure in Congress of defending rural interests. Yet he's one of the most endangered Democrats in the House because of the Trump effect. The two-time House Agriculture chairman has built a reputation as a brash straight-shooter who frequently bucks the Democratic Party. Peterson was just one of two Democrats who voted against moving ahead with impeachment proceedings for President Donald Trump last week. He voted against the Affordable Care Act, disagrees with abortion rights legislation, and has an "A" rating from the National Rifle Association. But those credentials may not be enough to get voters in Peterson's solidly Republican district to continue backing him in 2020. His margins have shrunk every election since 2014, and the National Republican Congressional Committee is planning to throw its weight behind a leading challenger. The Cook Political Report labels the race in Minnesota’s 7th District a tossup. “We’ve been voting for Collin for a long time,” said Gregg Peppin, a Minnesota Republican consultant. “We’ve liked him, he’s been different. But he’s had a good run and it’s time for a new face.” Politico
5. Klobuchar touches nerve with comment on Buttigieg qualifications. The 2020 Democratic presidential primary campaign drew a record six female candidates to the field. But with just less than three months until voting starts, only one has risen to the top tier. Is it sexism or just politics? That’s the debate that erupted Monday as one of those candidates, Sen. Amy Klobuchar, publicly complained about gender bias in the race, saying voters and the media were giving rival Pete Buttigieg, a small-town mayor, more support and attention because he’s a man. A woman with a similar resume, Klobuchar argued, wouldn’t be taken seriously enough to make the debate stage. The comment seemed to touch a nerve in an election where gender politics is never far from the surface. Many in the party believe Hillary Clinton was a victim of sexism and voters who hold women to a different standard when she lost to Donald Trump in 2016. They’re still hungry to elect the first female president and vigilantly working to combat signs of bias. Still, Klobuchar’s comment was striking as it seemed aimed at a candidate also attempting to make history, by becoming the first openly gay president. The Associated Press
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