Free Republic

ST. PAUL, Minn. — Minnesota Rep. Keith Ellison, the first Muslim elected to Congress, has filed papers to run for Minnesota attorney general. Ellison, also the deputy chairman of the Democratic National Committee, filed Tuesday just hours ahead of a deadline. Ellison will keep his post with the national party. Ellison is in his sixth term representing a reliably Democratic Minneapolis-area seat. But he was lured into Minnesota's attorney general race after the incumbent, Lori Swanson, jumped into the governor's race on Monday. Ellison says it was attorneys general who led the fight against President Donald Trump's ban on travelers...

Minnesota state law is pretty clear on what the next steps will be, stipulating that in the event of a vacancy in the Senate, a special election “shall be held at the next November election if the vacancy occurs at least 11 weeks before the regular state primary preceding that election.” Franken’s resignation, if it happens tomorrow, will indeed occur more than 11 weeks before the state primary, meaning that a special election will be held in November 2018 to decide who Franken’s permanent replacement will be. In the meantime, Democratic Governor Mark Dayton is given the ability to make...

Minnesota's secretary of state, Mark Ritchie, a Democrat, acting in concert with the state's attorney general, Lori Swanson, a Democrat, intends to change the titles of the constitutional amendments regarding marriage and voter photo ID. Ritchie believes, apparently nudged by Swanson, that he has found state law under which the secretary of state shall provide an appropriate title for ballot questions. Legislative attorneys believe that Ritchie's perceived authority would only come into play when the lawmakers do not provide a title. Well, let's see. Did the Legislature offer titles? For the so-called marriage amendment, the language passed by the Legislature...

Minnesota Attorney General Lori Swanson has rejected a request from Gov. Tim Pawlenty to sue over the new federal health care law. Instead, Swanson said Monday she will file a friend-of-the-court brief supporting the federal government in a lawsuit filed by 13 state attorneys general. The Democratic attorney general sent the Republican governor a letter saying a lawsuit isn't warranted because health care fits squarely within the federal government's authority to regulate interstate commerce.

In another twist in Minnesota's prolonged U.S. Senate race, Republican Norm Coleman's campaign has subpoenaed Secretary of State elections manager Gary Poser, claiming discrepancies between recount figures reported by local officials and those posted on the Secretary of State's website. Campaign attorney Tony Trimble said Coleman could have lost 10 to 15 votes because of changes the Secretary of State's office made to local recount figures. "It's a minor issue in the scheme of things," Trimble said. Still, in an election where final recount figures left Coleman trailing by only 225 votes, the subpoena underscores how he is leaving no...