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SNAPSHOT
Though the U.S. Senate race seemed to hold the most promise for a close race, it was the governor's race in Minnesota that grabbed the election-night headlines. Incumbent Tim Pawlenty held onto his office by just 22,000 votes over DFLer Mike Hatch. But Pawlenty saw his GOP colleagues swept out of office. In the Senate race, DFLer Amy Klobuchar easily beat Rep. Mark Kennedy.

The retirement of Sen. Mark Dayton sparked early interest in the campaign, with Rep. Mark Kennedy jumping in early. But a year later, Kennedy emerged as the lone Republican for the job, and Hennepin County Attorney Amy Klobuchar's strength was forcing several Democrats, including Patty Wetterling, out of the race.

The Senate race immediately attracted national attention, but as Klobuchar surged ahead of Kennedy in the polls, much national attention turned to the 6th District, where Patty Wetterling and state Sen. Michele Bachmann were the major contenders. Bachmann beat Wettlerling. It was Wetterling's second straight loss in the district. In the 5th, Rep. Keith Ellison became the first Muslim congressman. And in the 1st, incumbent Gil Gutknecht was defeated by DFLer Tim Walz.
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Illinois Sen. Barack Obama, one of the biggest names in the Democratic Party, spent Monday in Minnesota -- campaigning for Democrats and signing copies of his new book. The atmosphere at the book signing was worthy of a rock star. (10/30/2006)
Political candidates seem to have commandeered the airwaves. Neighborhoods are thick with lawn signs. And television ads extol the virtues of voting. What's an anarchist to do? (10/30/2006)
Should Minnesota constitutionally dedicate its motor vehicle sales tax to fund roads and transit? Voters will decide that question on Nov. 7, and the University of Minnesota, Duluth sponsored a debate on the merits of the MVST amendment. (Midday, 10/30/2006)
The St. Paul Schools' current levy referendum is expiring next summer. So the district board is asking taxpayers to pay more than $20 million dollars a year for six years to avoid cutting school programs. (10/30/2006)
Republican U.S. Senate candidate Mark Kennedy questioned the honesty of his Democratic opponent Amy Klobuchar during a debate Sunday night, scaling up his rhetoric against her with 10 days to go until the election. (10/29/2006)
Minnesota's candidates for governor sparred Sunday night in their first televised debate of the campaign. Republican Gov. Tim Pawlenty, DFL candidate Mike Hatch and the Independence Party's Peter Hutchinson disagreed on issues such as transportation, immigration and property taxes. (10/29/2006)
Television commercial breaks are flooded with political ads, but more money could be flowing to local stations. (10/27/2006)
Voters in Minnesota's 6th District are poised to elect a woman to Congress this year. But which woman? (10/27/2006)
With less than two weeks to go until the election, GOP candidates are running ads on immigration. One reason is that the issue is important to GOP voters. (10/27/2006)
With less than two weeks to go before election day, candidates around Minnesota and interested parties are producing new political ads and buying air time at a feverish pace. (10/27/2006)
The two major parties are both asking voters to give them control of Congress in this year's election. But, on an individual level, what qualities make a good lawmaker? (Midday, 10/26/2006)
A proposed constitutional amendment to dedicate tax dollars to state transportation needs will remain on the Nov. 7 ballot, despite arguments that its wording is confusing, the state Supreme Court ruled on Thursday. (10/26/2006)
A collection of recent Minnesota Public Radio reports examining some of the issues in the races for the U.S. Senate and the governor's office. (Midday, 10/26/2006)
Minnesota's major party U.S. Senate candidates each offer a different approach to dealing with the war in Iraq. (10/26/2006)
Like he did in the stretch run four years ago, Republican Gov. Tim Pawlenty began airing an immigration-themed ad. Meanwhile, Democratic challenger Mike Hatch expressed a willingness to approve a gas tax increase despite his personal opposition to it. (10/25/2006)

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