Capitol View: October 27, 2008 Archive

Barna Group: Obama making inroads among religious voters

Posted at 6:29 AM on October 27, 2008 by Tom Scheck

The Barna Group, a Christian based research group, said Barack Obama is polling much stronger among religious voters than Democrat John Kerry did in 2004.

"Anything can happen, but the election is clearly Obama's to lose," commented Kinnaman, president of the California-based Barna Group. "If Obama goes on to win, one of the significant stories will be the profile of the faith vote. People will wonder whether he won because of effective outreach by Democrats to the Christian community, ineffective efforts of Republicans, or shifts in the voting priorities of Christians, especially younger believers. Whatever the case, compared to when the names Kerry and Bush were on the ballot, the Democrats are poised to make up significant ground among born again and evangelical voters."

3rd District candidates on Midday for final debate

Posted at 10:17 AM on October 27, 2008 by Tom Scheck

All three candidates running in Minnesota's 3rd Congressional District will be on Midday today at 11. DFLer Ashwin Madia, Republican Erik Paulsen and Independence Party candidate David Dillon are all vying to replace GOP Rep. Jim Ramstad. The race is one of the most closely watched seats in the country. This will be the final debate among the candidates.

Pawlenty attends McCain's economic meeting

Posted at 12:19 PM on October 27, 2008 by Tom Scheck

Gov. Pawlenty was in Cleveland, OH this morning to attend John McCain's economic meet-up. USA Today has this snapshot:

McCain, trailing in national polls, spoke Monday after meeting with his economic advisers, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, who ran against McCain in the primaries; Stanford University professor John Taylor; and two former vice presidential possibilities, Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty and one-time CEO of eBay, Meg Whitman.

The Arizona senator said he and his opponent "both disagree with President Bush on economic policy." The difference, McCain said, is that he believes government spending is too high, while Obama believes taxes are too low.

"It's a difference of millions of jobs," McCain said, flanked by his economic team, adding that "Americans are beginning to figure that out."

Bill Clinton coming to Minneapolis

Posted at 3:48 PM on October 27, 2008 by Tom Scheck

An official with Barack Obama's campaign said former President Bill Clinton will make a campaign stop in Minneapolis on Thursday evening. He'll be appearing on behalf of Barack Obama and DFL U.S. Senate candidate Al Franken. No other details of the event are available at this time.