Free Republic

In a stark display of the nation’s divide, the lower and upper chamber of every legislature but one — Minnesota — will be controlled by the same party following Tuesday’s midterm elections. It will be the first time in 104 years that only one state will have a divided legislature. That emerging political dynamic has potentially serious policy implications. Without a divided government, these single-party state houses are in a position to enact legislation at a time when Washington faces a new round of gridlock after Democrats captured the House and Republicans expanded their control of the Senate. (Snip) The...

Republican Jim Hagedorn has won southern Minnesota's 1st District race, flipping a Democratic seat that the GOP had targeted in hopes of hanging on to a House majority. Hagedorn defeated Iraq War veteran Dan Feehan, a Democrat who was an acting assistant secretary of defense in the Obama administration. It was Hagedorn's fourth try for Congress. Democratic U.S. Rep. Tim Walz vacated the seat to run for governor, setting up an intense contest that drew nearly $15 million in outside spending. Hagedorn came close to beating Walz in 2016, when President Donald Trump carried the district. He really never stopped...

Minnesota Democratic Rep. Keith Ellison has been elected as the state Attorney General, fending off his Republican opponent in an election mired with domestic abuse allegations. Ellison, the deputy chair of the Democratic National Committee, defeated Republican Doug Wardlow and his ambitious run to become the first Republican state attorney general in nearly half a century. Ellison was once seen as the comfortable favorite in the race, but his campaign was thrown into turmoil when his former girlfriend accused him in August of physical and emotional abuse when they dated.

In Minnesota Republicans experienced electoral disaster that verges on disgrace if it doesn’t get there. We lost both Senate races by wide margins. We lost the governor’s race by a wide margin. Indeed, we lost every constitutional office. We even elected former hate cult and longtime supporter of cop killers Keith Ellison over Republican Doug Wardlow in the contest for attorney general. Ellison was assisted by the fact that his disgraceful views were held in confidence by the reporters at the Star Tribune. Ellison’s 4-point margin over Wardlow, however, made for the narrowest statewide win last night.

DETROIT (WXYZ) - At Martin Luther King Jr. High School in Detroit, voters arrived shortly after polls opened ready to vote. However, they were shocked to find out that the precinct wasn't prepared – they had no voting machines. After speaking with election workers, we learned there was some sort of miscommunication about where those voting machines were left. It turned out they were locked in a closet on the other side of the school, a closet that election workers did not have access to. In the meantime, voters were turned away. The precinct now has the machines and is...

Six weeks into early voting, the number of ballots cast in Minnesota has nearly matched the early general election turnout in 2016, according to the Minnesota Secretary of State's data — an initial sign of potentially strong midterm turnout in November. In 2016, nearly 700,000 absentee ballots were received prior to Election Day. So far this year, about 410,000 votes have already been cast, which roughly matches 2016 at this time and is significantly more than the number who voted early in the 2014 midterms, when early voting was first allowed. The Star Tribune will be tracking the early vote...

The Democrats might capture the House this year, but every GOP pickup makes that prospect less likely. Here in Minnesota, we have two very strong pickup opportunities, open seats in the 1st and 8th Congressional districts, both of which went strongly for President Trump in 2016. I am pretty confident that the Republican candidates, Jim Hagedorn and Pete Stauber, will win those races. Until now, hardly anyone has taken seriously the chance that Republican David Hughes can upset longtime Congressman Collin Peterson in Minnesota’s 7th. But, in a stunning move, Real Clear Politics now rates the contest a tossup. Peterson...

Minnesota state Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-60B) currently leads the race to fill the federal House seat being vacated by Rep. Keith Ellison (D-MN). Immediately after being elected to her current seat in 2016, Omar faced allegations -- soon backed by a remarkable amount of evidence -- that she had married her own brother in 2009, and was still legally his wife. They officially divorced in December 2017. The motivation for the marriage remains unclear. However, the totality of the evidence points to possible immigration fraud and student loan fraud. Rep. Omar has stated that she did marry "British citizen" Ahmed...

The Minnesota Democratic Party has suspended a spokesman for calling for violence against Republicans even as two GOP candidates have been assaulted in suspected politically motivated attacks. The Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party has suspended communications staffer William Davis for one week without pay after making a Facebook post joking that Democrats would "bring [Republicans] to the guillotine" on Nov. 7, the day after the midterm elections. Minnesota Republican Party chairman Jennifer Carnahan said the suspension was not enough, calling for his immediate firing in the aftermath of separate attacks against Republican candidates. She said she has been subjected to numerous death threats...

Minnesota County Commissioner Pete Stauber leads former State Rep. Joe Radinovich (D-MN) by 15 points, according to a poll released on Monday. Minnesota Republican Stauber leads Radinovich by 15 points—49 to 34 percent—in Minnesota’s Eighth Congressional District. Thirteen percent of Minnesota voters remain undecided, and the margin of error is 4.6 percent, giving Stauber a comfortable lead over the Minnesota Democrat. The previous Times poll showed Radinovich leading by only one point, making the latest poll a 14-point growth towards the Minnesota Republican. Breitbart News reported that MN-8 is one of the key congressional districts that Republicans must flip to...

Filming the line that is there for the MAGA rally in Rochester, NY.

President Donald Trump will make his second visit to Minnesota this year next week. The Republican Party of Minnesota announced Wednesday Trump will visit Rochester Oct. 4. "We are jumping through the roof with excitement to welcome our great and fearless leader, President Donald J. Trump, back to Minnesota next week," Republican Party of Minnesota Chairwoman wrote in a release. Trump visited Duluth in June and has backed Pete Stauber in the 8th Congressional District race. Vice President Mike Pence also visited Duluth in August.

Where is Democrats' concern and support for Ellison's ex-girlfriend? The former girlfriend of Congressman Keith Ellison is accusing her fellow Democrats of isolating her and attempting to silence her for speaking out about the domestic violence she claims to have suffered at the hands of her ex-boyfriend. Democrats say they believe women when they come forward with claims of abuse inflicted on them by powerful men. But this claimed belief in women isn’t unconditional. When a woman accuses a powerful Democrat, all bets are off. The episode is another reminder that Democrats are champions of women’s rights – but only...

Minnesota Sen. Tina Smith (D) holds a 7-point lead over Republican challenger and state Sen. Karin Housley ahead of November's midterms, according to a new poll publishing Monday. The Star Tribune/MPR News Minnesota poll found that Smith, who replaced former Sen. Al Franken (D) following his resignation in January, has the support of 44 percent of likely voters. Another 37 percent support Housley, while 15 percent of those surveyed say they remain undecided, according to the poll. Smith, the former Minnesota lieutenant governor, was tapped to replace Franken after he resigned amid allegations of sexual misconduct. Smith now faces Housley...

President Donald Trump is endorsing Minnesota congressional candidate Dave Hughes. Dave Hughes is running for Congress in the Great State of Minnesota. He will help us accomplish our America First policies, is strong on Crime, the Border, our 2nd Amendment, Trade, Military and Vets. Running against Pelosi Liberal Puppet Petterson. Dave has my Total Endorsement! — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 8, 2018 Trump tweeted Saturday that Hughes "will help us accomplish our America First policies." KSTP 2018 Election Page Hughes is trying to unseat 14-term Democratic Rep. Collin Peterson in Minnesota's 7th Congressional District.....

It’s been two weeks since the DNC announced it was “reviewing” domestic abuse allegations against deputy DNC chair Keith Ellison. The DNC still has no details on its investigation of the allegations and chairman Tom Perez recently passed the buck to the state party when asked about the DNC’s handling of the Ellison accusations. Prominent national Democrats are using the DNC investigation to avoid answering whether they believe Ellison’s accuser. ...

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) — U.S. Bank Stadium became a place of worship on Tuesday. Thousands of Muslim families from across Minnesota filled the stadium in celebration of a religious holiday. The prayer service on the field and the outdoor activities that followed were part of ‘Super Eid,’ marking a day-long event focused on self-reflection and family.

Super Eid “rally” features roster of scary speakers with Jihadist ties. As Islamic leaders with ties to terrorism addressed them, thousands of Muslims chanted the jihadist battle cry “Allahu Akbar” at taxpayer-funded U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis yesterday as part of a huge celebration of the Muslim festival of animal sacrifice known as Eid al-Adha. One media estimate put the size of the crowd at 30,000. “Allahu Akbar” is not an innocuous phrase. It is generally the last thing victims of Muslim terrorism around the world hear as their lives are cut short at the hands of groups like Islamic...

With control of both the House and the Senate in play on Election Day 2018, one unlikely state could prove pivotal: Minnesota. Known as a stubbornly Democratic state—Minnesota hasn’t voted Republican in a presidential election since 1972—it is sometimes written off by Republicans. The state has produced a roster of famously progressive politicians, from Hubert Humphrey and Walter Mondale to Paul Wellstone and Keith Ellison. Also Al Franken. When he resigned his Senate seat last year after being caught up in the #MeToo movement, Democratic Gov. Mark Dayton appointed his own lieutenant governor, Tina Smith, to fill the seat. Smith...

New Emnerson poll of 500 LIKELY VOTERS has the dem only up 4. https://www.realclearpolitics.com/epolls/2018/senate/mn/minnesota_senate_special_election_housley_vs_smith-6303.html