Free Republic

Minnesota Republicans were told Saturday that they are members of a brand-new party and that Rep. Marty Seifert is their early favorite to be the state's brand-new governor. Seifert, of Marshall, who came into the race as a front-runner and has one of the most active campaigns, won 37 percent of the first-choice votes in a non-binding straw poll. Rep. Tom Emmer of Delano came in second, former state auditor Pat Anderson third and Sen. David Hann of Eden Prairie a close fourth. The poll won't bind delegates in next year's endorsement fight, but it gave winners bragging rights and...

A majority of Minnesotans don't want to see Gov. Tim Pawlenty run for president in 2012, but nearly as many say they would give him a look if he were nominated, according to a Star Tribune Minnesota Poll. The poll shows that only 30 percent of adults want to see the two-term governor make a try for the White House three years from now, while 55 percent do not. But in a mixed message for Pawlenty, 25 percent of Minnesotans said there was a "good chance" they would vote for him if he became the GOP nominee, while another 25...

Minnesota's Republican governor used to make soaring speeches about defusing climate change. Now he's making jokes, and some environmentalists are wondering whether his gone-missing support amounts to "bait and switch" politics. Gov. Tim Pawlenty is stoking frustration among Democratic state lawmakers and prominent climate thinkers for becoming "totally silent" on two major efforts to stem greenhouse gas emissions in Minnesota and in a strip of states stretching from Canada to Kansas. The turnaround is striking because it was the governor who powerfully promoted the initiatives. Now, chafed participants believe Pawlenty is abandoning climate action to mend his conservative credentials before...

There's a new leader at the top of the Minnesota Republican Party. State Republicans chose Tony Sutton, a Twin Cities businessman and active GOP party member as its leader at a gathering in Brooklyn Center Saturday. Sutton replaces Ron Carey, who is stepping down from the post. Sutton served on numerous campaigns and Republican committees on both state and national levels. He most recently served as secretary-treasurer of the Minnesota Republican Party. He is also the CEO of Minnesota-based Baja Sol Restaurant Group. Radio talk show host Dave Thompson and former state Sen. Carrie Ruud also sought the post. The...

Congresswoman Michele Bachmann (R MN6) is hosting 2 townhalls this week to take on the liberal fabrication that is Global Warming. (SHORT VIDEO AT LINK) St. Cloud/Woodbury, MN, Apr 9 - Congresswoman Michele Bachmann to host forums on Climate Change & Cap and Trade Special Guest: Chris Horner , Senior Fellow and Author, Competitive Enterprise Institute Thursday, April 9, 2009: 1:15-2:30 pm St. Cloud State University Atwood Memorial Center, Cascade Room 4:30-5:45 pm Woodbury Central Park Community Center, Room B 8595 Central Park Place (off Valley Creek Road and Radio Drive) I’ll be attending the St. Cloud event. Chances are...

If you're not a Minnesota, you probably haven't seen the blizzard of TV commercials emanating from Norm Coleman's and Al Franken's campaigns for the US Senate. Trust me, these ads are bare-knuckled. The first one is an attack ad by Coleman. The second is a rebuttal ad by Al Franken. And the third is a rebuttal by Coleman to Franken's rebuttal. Watch them in the exact order below... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XJUxtfSdaX0 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1hZxxEKmJaY http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_nETYU-znTA

ST. PAUL, Minn. - Comedian Al Franken grabbed the Democratic nomination Tuesday for U.S. Senate in Minnesota, setting up a showdown with Republican Sen. Norm Coleman that had been years in the making. Franken, who gained fame as a "Saturday Night Live" cast member, easily beat six other candidates chasing the Democratic nod. Coleman trounced his only opponent, an expatriate living in Italy. Minnesota voters joined those in six other states and the District of Columbia in deciding general election matchups. Nominations for House, Senate and governor were on the line, along with the fate of another TV celebrity: Kevin...

Get ready folks, in just a few hours we are about to watch heads exploding from the hate filled moonbat left. Leading that charge might just be Portland's own Jack Bogdanski. Remember he is the creepy guy who bought, hook line and sinker, the story about Governor Palin faking her pregnancy (Que Twilight Zone music now). I checked out some of Jack's comments from his hate filled anti-Palin thread and found a few of these morsels that were posted on Sunday, August 31st. Check them out and get yourself a little chuckle. Doris, don't worry. By this time Tuesday, she...

enate candidate Al Franken's satirical and explicit take on virtual sex and other topics, published in Playboy magazine eight years ago, is drawing concern instead of laughter from some Minnesota Democrats. Rep. Betty McCollum, who supported the comedian's rival Mike Ciresi until he dropped out of the race for the party's nomination for the Senate, complained Thursday that she and other Minnesota Democrats will be on the same November ballot as a candidate "who has pornographic writings that are indefensible." "Do they spend all of their time defending him, or do they spend their time talking about issues that are...

Looks like the folks in Minnesota are trying to have a little fun. So many of you responded to our video requesting help to name our blog, we here in Minneapolis-Saint Paul figured we're in March, the local college is trying to get into the post-season basketball tournament, that tournament has a catchy nickname, so why don’t we *ahem* "leverage" that into creating our own contest: Blog Madness?

The snow doesn’t seem to be slowing down Gov. Tim Pawlenty. He plans to leave Thursday on another out of state trip. It is just one of several 5 EYEWITNESS NEWS has followed over the last couple of months—fueling speculation of a Vice Presidential nod. Aside from his day job at the capitol, Pawlenty’s side gig as John McCain’s national co-chair has him crisscrossing the nation almost every weekend so far this year. Take a look at his itinerary: Dec. 29: Pawlenty was in New Hampshire. The next week, to the Iowa caucuses. Then it was off to Michigan. And...

The Minnesota Public Radio News/Humphrey Institute Poll indicates DFL Senate candidate Al Franken poses more of a re-election threat to Republican Sen. Norm Coleman than any of the other DFL candidates. The poll indicates that if the election were today Coleman and Franken would be in a statistical dead heat. The poll took the pulse of 917 Minnesota residents over a one- week period that ended Sunday. It shows Coleman 5 points ahead of DFLer Mike Ciresi, and gives Coleman double-digit leads over Jack Nelson-Pallmeyer and Jim Cohen who dropped out of the race Friday. University of Minnesota Humphrey Institute...

The Republican Party in Minnesota, where the GOP will crown its nominee this summer, is a perfect reflection right now of the national party. It is all mixed up on the presidential race and struggling to hold an increasingly fragile coalition together. "There's a real battle going on here for what it means to be conservative, to be Republican," said Andy Aplikowski, a local party chairman. "Is it religion, is it defense, free markets ... states' rights? There's no common message." In Minnesota, as across the country, evangelicals are lining up behind pastor-turned-politician Mike Huckabee despite his record of tax...

Sources are reporting that Rep. Marty Seifert (R Marshall) will be announced as the Minnesota Chair for the Fred Thompson campaign Thursday. Seifert is a huge pick up for Thompson as he is held as a hero for leading the charge against the DFL’s massive and oppressive tax increases last Legislative session as Republican House Minority Leader. There will be a public kickoff Thursday at the State Capital. The campaign will be holding a formal announcement at 2:00PM on Thursday November 15th, in Room 181 of the State Office Building to announce Seifert as State Chair along with Chairs and...

U.S. Rep. Jim Ramstad is expected to announce that he is retiring from Congress. His office released a statement today saying he plans to "make a major announcement ...concerning his future plans." Ramstad has represented the Third District, made up of the southern, western and northern suburbs of Minneapolis, since he was elected to his first of 9 terms in 1990. A spokesman for Ramstad, John Magnuson, declined to comment on the congressman's announcement, which is scheduled for 3 p.m. in Minnetonka. But an email press release on the announcement included a file entitled, "retire_advisory," that had Magnuson's name attached...

DOBBS: Let's talk about another oath. The Senate... FRANKEN: Yes? DOBBS: Minnesota, are you going to run? FRANKEN: I don't know. Actually, we're deciding, I think, this weekend, the family, my family. DOBBS: OK, I'll give you the number, and I want you to let me know immediately. FRANKEN: I think if I tell someone, it might be somebody in Minnesota. DOBBS: You've got it. All right. Well, we wish you a lot of luck. Look forward to your decision. FRANKEN: Thank you. DOBBS: Whatever you do, stay yourself. Those people... FRANKEN: No, I'm going to change, Lou. If I...

Keith Ellison's GOP foe attacked sharply Wednesday, calling him unfit for Congress and saying he was "offended as a Jew that we have a candidate like this running for U.S. Congress." On a day Ellison was fielding national media requests and getting attention for possibly becoming the first Muslim in Congress, the remarks of opponent Alan Fine showed how Republicans hope to make Ellison's past a liability for Democrats. Fine didn't raise specific issues that hadn't come up earlier in the campaign, but his criticism was sharper. It showed that despite a surprisingly strong showing in Tuesday's DFL primary in...

Who is Keith Ellison? (20) Keith Ellison is the endorsed Democratic candidate for Congress in Minnesota's solidly Democratic Fifth District (Minneapolis). Ellison's local leadership of the Nation of Islam, his defense of the "truth" of an attack on Minneapolis Jews as "the most racist white people," his affiliation with convicted murderer and Vice Lords gang leader Sharif Willis, his support of the Vice Lords gangbangers charged (and subsequently convicted) with the murder of Minneapolis police officer Jerry Haaf, his outrageous attacks on law enforcement authorities, his demand that Symbionese Liberation Army terrorist Sara Jane Olson be freed, his concern for...

On Saturday, Thompson and 324 other party delegates will narrow the field of four to one. State Sen. Michele Bachmann is leading in a hard-fought race that also includes businessman Jay Esmay and state Reps. Jim Knoblach and Phil Krinkie. But the endorsing convention at Monticello High School could get unpredictable if Bachmann doesn't clear the 60 percent threshold needed for an endorsement early on.

ST PAUL MAYOR Total Number of Precincts 104 Precincts Reporting 69 Total Votes 17902 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- BILL DAHN 35 GLEN MANSFIELD 27 RANDY C. KELLY 4816 SHARON ANDERSON 153 CHRIS COLEMAN 9172 NICK TSCHIDA 92 ELIZABETH DICKINSON 3582 JACOB PERASSO 25