Polinaut: October 28, 2008 Archive

The Daily Digest: 10-28-08

Posted at 7:03 AM on October 28, 2008 by Tom Scheck
Filed under: Daily Digest

Gov. Pawlenty will campaign with GOP Sen. Norm Coleman today.

Former President Bill Clinton will campaign in Minnesota on Thursday night for DFLer Al Franken and Barack Obama.

The visits come as Stu Rothenberg calls Minnesota's U.S. Senate race as the only toss-up.

Both Coleman and DFLers are denouncing a mailer released by the National Republican Senatorial Committee. Democrats want Coleman to apologize on behalf of his party and stop campaigning to head the NRSC. MPR, the Star Tribune, KARE, the Pi Press, Forum Communications, KSTP and MinnPost have stories.

DFLer Al Franken campaigned in northwestern Minnesota. He and DFL Rep. Collin Peterson visited a farm.

Bloomberg also takes a look at the race.

Anti-Norm Coleman graffiti is found in Minneapolis.

2008 Race for President

Barack Obama and John McCain begin the push in the final days.

Obama is promising unity over division.

McCain dials back his ad spending in Minnesota.

The feds thwart an assassination plot against Obama.

The New York Times says some are second guessing Palin's pick. Pawlenty is mentioned.

2008 Race for Congress

The 4th and 5th District candidates will be on Midday today for a debate.

3rd District candidates define their differences in the final debate.

DFLer Ashwin Madia and Republican Erik Paulsen won't condemn the negative ads.

The National Journal and the Washington Times take a look at the 6th.

Politico says Bachmann's comments rattled her race for Congress (Norm Coleman is also mentioned.).

The Star Tribune mentions Bachmann in a story on Tom Petters.

CQ calls the 6th No Clear Favorite.

The Minnesota Independent says 2nd District DFLer Steve Sarvi and DFL Rep. Tim Walz also improve their chances.

KAAL takes a look at where DFL Rep. Tim Walz and Republican Brian Davis stand on taxes.

Davis will hold a news conference on taxes today. I'm told Walz held the news conference.

Forum Communications profiles the race in the 8th District.

2008 Race for the Legislature

Former Republican Rep. Ron Erhardt is running as an Independent this year. MPR takes a look at the race.

The Pi Press takes a look at two of the more competitive districts, House District 56B and HD 38A.

The Bemidji Pioneer takes a look at HD 4A.

Race for the Courts

Minnesota has two contested Supreme Court seats.

Economy

Asian markets rebound, European markets open higher.

Older Americans are hit hard by the turmoil.

Voting

The Star Tribune examines split ticket voters.

MPR's Midmorning will take a look at the undecided voter at 9.

GOP Rep. Jim Ramstad says Republicans are looking at a disaster in November.

Get Out the Vote efforts are being ramped up.

St. Kate's students protest the school's ban on political speakers.

Vandalism

Political graffiti has spread to Missouri.

One more debate scheduled in race for Ramstad's seat

Posted at 10:33 AM on October 28, 2008 by Curtis Gilbert
Filed under: U.S. MN CD3

There has been a last-minute addition to the debate schedule in Minnesota's tight 3rd District Congressional race.

DFL Ashwin Madia, Republican Erik Paulsen and Independence Party candidate David Dillon will face off one last time Thursday morning at UnitedHealth Group headquarters in Minnetonka. Simon Stevens, CEO of UnitedHealth's Ovations subsidiary, will moderate.

The forum is open only to the company's employees, who will supply the questions. But we will have the audio for you here on Polinaut later that morning.

The candidates met yesterday on MPR's Midday program for what was to be their final debate.

Coleman calls on Stevens to resign

Posted at 11:51 AM on October 28, 2008 by Tom Scheck (1 Comments)

Republican Senator Norm Coleman is calling on Alaska Senator Ted Stevens to resign. A jury yesterday found the long-time Alaska Republican Senator guilty of seven counts of trying to hide more than $250 thousand in free home renovations and other gifts from a wealthy oil contractor. At a campaign stop in Inver Grove Heights, Coleman said Stevens should leave office immediately..

"I think he's been tried and convicted and that's the standard I set before with colleagues that have plead guilty or have been convicted and I think that's what he should do."

In July, Coleman returned $20 thousand in campaign contributions from Stevens. Minnesota Democrats are calling on Coleman to also return $12 thousand that Stevens donated to Coleman's Senate campaign in 2002 but Coleman said he already spent that money. Both Stevens and Coleman are running for re-election this year.

UPDATE: DFLers say that's not good enough. They say Coleman gave back money when the Abramoff and Foley scandals occurred. They say Coleman should do the same here.

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Pawlenty: It will be tough for McCain to win MN

Posted at 12:31 PM on October 28, 2008 by Tom Scheck (1 Comments)

Gov. Pawlenty said it will be a "challenge" for McCain to win Minnesota:

"The polls are showing that Senator Obama has a significant lead in Minnesota. We still are hopeful that Senator McCain make a comeback but it looks like Senator Obama has a pretty good advantage in Minnesota right now..."

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The Obama effect

Posted at 12:40 PM on October 28, 2008 by Tom Scheck (1 Comments)

MPR's Tim Nelson sends along this dispatch:

If you needed any further indication just how topsy-turvy this election season has become, you should have been at the recent "Obama Effect" conference at the University of Minnesota. Some of it was mind-crushing graduate school speak, but there were some moments of disorienting intrigue.

At one point, University of Minnesota alum Penny Sheets, now at the University of Washington (and who may or may not also be a backup singer for Seattle auteur rocker Anomie Belle) rolled out preliminary analysis of a web survey being run at Harvard.

The point of the survey is to try and tease out what voters might really be thinking as they make choices about the presidential election, particularly regarding race, religion and patriotism. Sheets suggested that voters were mulling the Christianity and Americanism of candidates as they stepped into the polling booth, regardless of what they

Sheets's Powerpoint presentation was a little complex and she only had 20 minutes, so she had to kind of rush through it. There were lots of caveats, too, like the fact that the Harvard survey was very "Democrat heavy." But she ended up with this observation about the hundreds of people who have taken the Project Implicit test at Harvard.

"There's some interaction, we think between religiosity and party that I wasn't able to get to yet. But we're hoping to do that in a next step. It looks like the more religious Republicans tend to vote for Obama, and the more religious Democrats tend to vote for McCain."

Go figure. It is, however, an interesting parallel to the wavering fortunes of Christian voters that the Barna Group was talking about last week.

You can test your own political, regiligous and party mettle at the Harvard Project Implicit website here.

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Coleman and Pawlenty in Inver Grove Heights

Posted at 1:00 PM on October 28, 2008 by Tom Scheck

Republican Governor Tim Pawlenty campaigned with Republican Senator Norm Coleman today in the Twin Cities suburbs. The two spoke to a crowd of about fifty people at a restaurant in the southern Twin Cities suburb. You can listen to their speeches here:

More details on Bill Clinton visit

Posted at 1:39 PM on October 28, 2008 by Tom Scheck

Here's the release:

The Obama for America and Al Franken for Senate campaigns today announced that former President Bill Clinton will headline a "Five Days to Change" Get-Out-The-Vote rally in Minneapolis Thursday evening. Clinton will be joined by U.S. Senate candidate Al Franken and U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar.

"President Clinton has always understood that you grow the economy by investing in the middle class and putting people first," said Al Franken. "Minnesota families need a change in Washington so we can get our economy back on track -- and I'm so honored to be able to stand with President Clinton in fighting for that change in this election."

"President Clinton presided over a time of great economic prosperity," Obama's Minnesota state director Jeff Blodgett said. "We're honored to have President Clinton campaigning in Minnesota as the campaign comes to a close. President Clinton has a unique understanding of what it takes to bring the change we need for middle class families."

Thursday, October 30th

FIVE DAYS TO CHANGE RALLY WITH PRESIDENT BILL CLINTON

Minneapolis Convention Center
Exhibit Hall A
1301 2nd Ave S
Minneapolis, MN

Public Doors Open: 7:00 PM

Pre-Program Begins: 7:30 PM

The event is free and open to the public. Tickets are NOT required, but an RSVP is strongly encouraged. Members of the public are invited to RSVP at http://mn.barackobama.com/FiveDaystoChange or http://www.alfranken.com/clinton.

Klobuchar and Franken

Posted at 2:14 PM on October 28, 2008 by Tom Scheck (1 Comments)

DFL Senator Amy Klobuchar was busy campaiging with DFL candidate Al Franken. The two met supporters at a coffee shop near Hamline University in St. Paul. You can listen to the audio here:

Thanks to MPR's Mark Zdechlik for providing the photo and audio.

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Candidates in the 4th and 5th debated today, 6th on Thursday

Posted at 2:22 PM on October 28, 2008 by Tom Scheck

MPR's Midday hosted debates in Minnesota's 4th and 5th Districts today.

DFL Rep. Betty McCollum and Republican Ed Matthews squared off first.

DFL Rep. Keith Ellison, Republican Barb Davis White and the Independence Party's Bill McGaughey also debated the issues later in the show.

GOP Rep. Michele Bachmann and DFLer Elwyn Tinklenberg were orginally scheduled to debate tomorrow but it's been moved to Thursday at 11.

Wash. Post: RNC borrows $5 million for Senate races

Posted at 5:53 PM on October 28, 2008 by Tom Scheck

GOP Sen. Norm Coleman may be getting a little help, says The Fix:

The RNC line of credit is almost certain to be spent on a handful of vulnerable Republican incumbents who face varying levels of peril. That list includes North Carolina Sen. Elizabeth Dole, Oregon Sen. Gordon Smith, Minnesota Sen. Norm Coleman, Kentucky Sen. Mitch McConnell, Georgia Sen. Saxby Chambliss, Alaska Sen. Ted Stevens among others.

The decision by the RNC to help fund a series of Senate contest shows that national GOP strategists see the Senate as their firewall in next week's election.

Update: Politico says the DNC took out $10 million.

KSTP/Survey USA: 3rd is too close to call

Posted at 11:08 PM on October 28, 2008 by Tom Scheck

A KSTP/Survey USA poll shows a dead heat. Republican Erik Paulsen received support from 45% of those polled. DFLer Ashwin Madia polled at 44%. Other received 9% (Note: The pollster didn't include I-P candidate David Dillon in the poll).

The candidates running for Congress in the 3rd District are hoping to replace GOP Rep. Jim Ramstad.

Rothenberg: 3rd and 6th now toss-up/tilt D

Posted at 11:18 PM on October 28, 2008 by Tom Scheck

Stu Rothenberg is ranking the 3rd District and the 6th District at toss-up/tilt Democratic.