Minnesota
Smart Politics Live Blogging at Klobuchar Event
Smart Politics will be blogging live from 12:00-1:30 pm at an event sponsored by the Center for the Study of Politics and Governance (CSPG) at the Humphrey Institute on Monday, April 2nd. The event will feature Minnesota DFL Senator Amy…
Read MoreUpper Midwestern States Contemplate Presidential Primary Dates
As Election 2008 heats up, states across the nation are strategically shuffling their primary and caucus schedules in attempt to become more relevant players in the presidential campaign. Upper Midwestern states are also contemplating changes to their schedules in view…
Read MoreTurnover in 2008 MN House Party Control Follow-up
My Smart Politics entry on Monday for Twin Cities Public Television’s Almanac: At the Capitol site prompted a quick reply by the GOP leadership. Minnesota House Minority Leader Marty Seifert offered a thoughtful rejoinder here to my historical analysis demonstrating…
Read MoreGOP Unlikely to Take Back Minnesota House in 2008
The new Smart Politics commentary for Twin Cities Public Television’s Almanac: At the Capitol site is now posted here. Several commentators and news reports have filled out their ‘DFL scorecard’ as we pass the halfway point in this year’s legislative…
Read MoreNorm Coleman Maintains Double-Digit Lead Over Al Franken in New Poll
One of the Democratic National Committee’s most targeted U.S. Senate seats in 2008 is assuredly the one held by Minnesota Republican Senator Norm Coleman. Thus far Al Franken has emerged as the most prominent candidate to challenge Coleman in…
Read MoreSmoking in MN: Yes in Bars, No in Restaurants
The public opinion firm SurveyUSA recently released a series of questions asked of a random sample of 500 adults in Minnesota addressing a variety of social public policy issues on the state’s legislative agenda. Regarding the proposed smoking ban…
Read MoreFemale Legislators in MN At Record High; IA, WI, and SD Lag Behind National Average
Minnesota voters set a record in November 2006 by electing the highest percentage of female legislators to both the state House (43, 32.1 percent) and Senate (27, 40.3 percent) in Gopher State history. Overall, at 34.8 percent, Minnesota ranks 4th…
Read MoreTax Increases Not a Deal Breaker in Minnesota
The new Smart Politics commentary for Twin Cities Public Television’s Almanac: At the Capitol site is now posted here. In it I challenge the assertions made by Minnesota Republican state Representative Marty Seifert in his February 24th blog that Minnesotans…
Read MoreGlobal Warming Acknowledged in Upper Midwest
Al Gore’s involvement in the documentary An Inconvenient Truth has paid great dividends for the former Vice President—garnering near universal acclaim, and a new platform for the man many in Democratic circles hope to run for President in 2008….
Read MoreIA, MN, and WI Share Identical View of Bush’s Job Performance
Iowa, Minnesota, and Wisconsin will likely remain prized battleground states in the 2008 Presidential election, as they were previously in 2004 and 2000. And while there is still at least a trace of purple in each, these three Upper Midwestern…
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