Capitol View: September 13, 2012 Archive

Cravaack foes launch new ad in 8th

Posted at 7:18 AM on September 13, 2012 by Catharine Richert
Filed under: Campaign 2012, Campaign 2012: U.S. House, Campaign 2012: U.S. MN CD8

House Majority PAC, a political fund aimed at putting more Democrats in the U.S. House, has launched a new ad targeting 8th Congressional District GOP Rep. Chip Cravaack.

The ad, which will air in the Minneapolis-St. Paul market for two weeks, makes the case that Cravaack went to Washington and abandoned his Minnesota values.

"Chip Cravaack voted to end the current Medicare system," the ad says, and instead supported tax cuts for the wealthy.

The group intends to spend $250,000 on the spot.

It's not the first time House Majority PAC has weighed in on the 8th contest between Cravaack and his DFL opponent Rick Nolan. In August, the group along with unions SEIU and AFSCME, and a second political fund called Friends of Democracy commissioned a poll that showed Nolan with a narrow lead over Cravaack.

House Majority PAC got a head start in the 8th last year when it aired an ad making similar claims about Cravaack's record.

The Cravaack-Nolan is by far the most competitive in Minnesota this year, with the Rothenberg Political Report considering it a toss-up.

Update: Here's a statement from Ben Golnik, an adviser to Cravaack for Congress campaign -

"Over the last year and a half, out-of-state special interest groups have falsely attacked Chip Cravaack. We expect the attacks to continue, as these special interest groups desperately try to prop up the struggling campaign of former Congressman Rick Nolan. Chip Cravaack has an unprecedented record of constituent outreach, and he will continue to focus on bringing more jobs back to the 8th District by supporting pro-growth tax reform to aid small business and reducing regulatory barriers to economic growth."

Cravaack agrees to 3 debates, Nolan wants more

Posted at 10:45 AM on September 13, 2012 by Tom Scheck
Filed under: Campaign 2012, Campaign 2012: U.S. House, Campaign 2012: U.S. MN CD8

Republican Congressman Chip Cravaack has agreed to participate debate his DFL opponent Rick Nolan three times before Election Day.

Cravaack's campaign says he will participate in a Duluth News Tribune/Duluth Chamber of Commerce debate on Oct. 9 at 8am at the Duluth Playhouse, a KSTP debate that will be taped on Oct. 12 but will air on Oct. 14 and a Debate Minnesota forum at Anoka-Ramsey County College in Cambridge on Oct. 16 at noon.

But officials with Nolan's campaign say they've agreed to at least four debates and will probably agree to several more. They include the KSTP debate, the debate in Cambridge and proposed debates in Virginia, MN and Duluth. The Nolan campaign has not yet agreed to the Duluth News Tribune/Duluth Chamber of Commerce debate.

Cravaack campaign officials say they won't agree to any more debates.

The number of debates, timing of the forums and the locations could be a factor in the upcoming election. Campaigns are more likely to agree to debates that have a large number of partisans in the audience or are moderated by groups that are friendly to their ideas.

Cravaack is running for re-election in Minnesota's 8th Congressional District. The campaign is expected to be competitive and is getting plenty of attention from outside interest groups. Cravaack won an upset victory over long-time DFL Rep. Jim Oberstar in 2010. The two debated twice that year.

Campaign Finance Board stands by "John Doe decision"

Posted at 4:29 PM on September 13, 2012 by Tom Scheck
Filed under: Campaign 2012, Marriage Amendment

The Minnesota Campaign Finance Board is standing by its decision to grant anonymity to a person who made a donation to a group working to defeat a constitutional amendment that would ban same-sex marriage.

The board heard a complaint on the ruling today from Teresa Graham, who argued that there isn't clear and convincing evidence that the donor would lose his job with the Catholic Church if his name was made public. The board ruled the donor can stay anonymous but Graham argued the law should be the same for everyone. She said more than 30 other people associated with the Catholic Church contributed to groups on both sides of the ballot initiative and are identified in campaign finance reports.

"I think everybody should be treated the same," Graham told the board. "If this was a political action group that was supporting the amendment and someone came forward from the Unitarian Universalist Church, who has been very public in supporting it, and said they were concerned about losing their job, I'm not sure the outcome would be the same."

Several board members objected to Graham's comments and said they examine every issue on its merits. It's likely that Graham's complaint will be heard by the Office of Administrative Hearings.

Gary Goldsmith, executive director of the Minnesota Campaign Finance Board, said individuals are entitled to privacy in some instances. He called the exception unique.

"This isn't going to be a slippery slope. We have one person in a unique position with a unique employer that feels a threat to their employment. We haven't seen others so I don't think there is a risk of this ballooning into many requests."

But Goldsmith said that the group working to pass the amendment has also inquired as to whether a possible donor could remain anonymous.

Count Them All Properly to fold up shop

Posted at 4:35 PM on September 13, 2012 by Tom Scheck
Filed under: Campaign 2010, Campaign 2010: Minnesota Governor, Campaign 2012, Political parties, Recount 2010

The outside group designed to help Republican Tom Emmer's gubernatorial recount in 2010 is poised to close up shop. The Minnesota Campaign Finance Board voted today to allow "Count Them All Properly, Inc." to close its campaign account and use its remaining balance to pay off a fine from the board. The group was fined $3,000 by the campaign finance board for not disclosing donors and spending. But the board agreed today to accept the $1,184 left in the group's campaign account and waive the rest of the balance.

The board fined Count Them All Properly, the Minnesota Republican Party and former Party Chair Tony Sutton for how they handled the financing of the 2010 gubernatorial recount. The board found that Sutton and the Minnesota Republican Party set up the outside group to keep donations to Emmer's recount fund out of public view. That's a violation of state campaign finance law.

Before they took the vote, Campaign Finance Board Chair Greg McCullough asked if there was any possibility that Count Them All Properly could set up another account - a worry whenever the group votes to waive or lower fines.

Campaign Finance Board Executive Director Gary Goldsmith said it was unlikely.

"I think I can guarantee these people are not going to come back," Goldsmith said to the board.