Statehouse contests and political $

There are couple of interesting items that I read this morning in the Wall Street Journal.

The WSJ's Christopher Cooper says the battle for control of Statehouses (subscription required) across the country may be closer than the battle for control of Congress. Here's the nut graph:

"In 29 legislative chambers across the nation, a shift of no more than five seats would bring a new party to power. If the restless, dissatisfied mood among many voters produces a desire to throw out incumbents, both parties could see turmoil at the state level. If the sentiment turns against Republicans in charge at the national level, Democrats could make significant gains in elections."

Do you think Republican House Speaker Steve Sviggum and DFL House Minority Leader Margaret Anderson Kelliher (who recently took over for Matt Entenza recently) feel any pressure in Minnesota?

Create a More Connected Minnesota

MPR News is your trusted resource for the news you need. With your support, MPR News brings accessible, courageous journalism and authentic conversation to everyone - free of paywalls and barriers. Your gift makes a difference.

The other interesting WSJ story is about money in politics. According to the WSJ's Jeanne Cummings (again, subscription required), conservative groups are starting to use the controversial 572 groups to raise money on behalf of Republican candidates. Democrats used the 527s effectively in the 2004 election. Apparently the Republican groups who didn't like the tactic in '04 are pleased to use it this year. Cummings says several Republicans in Congress beat back attempts to curtail the amount of money for 527s (527s get their name because that's the section of the tax code that governs them). Here's the meat from this story...

"In the 2006 campaign so far, it is right-leaning 527s that are most active. The Club for Growth, a conservative economic-issue group, is leading the charge to kill the Republican bill that would shut down 527s. The Club for Growth received $8 million in donations during the 2004 cycle; for this cycle, its donations as of May tally $5.1 million. "I don't know how they would expect organizations to sit on the sideline and cheer when they are talking about taking a wrecking ball to the First Amendment," says David Keating, the club's executive director.

Mr. Keating's allies include social conservatives, gun-rights groups and college Republicans. Their campaign could stall congressional efforts to enact anticorruption legislation -- a response to a spate of ethics scandals -- because the House attached 527 language to its rewrite of lobbying laws."

Get ready for plenty of independent television and radio ads for Mark Kennedy and Amy Klobuchar in October.