Daily Digest: Swanson jumps in
Good morning, and welcome to Tuesday. Yesterday morning I asked, what will Lori Swanson do? Now we know. Here's the Digest.
1. Swanson and Nolan enter governor's race. Minnesota Attorney General Lori Swanson threw a wild card into the race for governor Monday, saying she'll run against state Rep. Erin Murphy and U.S. House Rep. Tim Walz in the Aug. 14 Democratic primary. She'll be joined on the ticket by retiring U.S. Rep. Rick Nolan. "Together, joining forces, we intend to solve problems for the people of Minnesota and work on things like jobs and health care and education," Swanson told reporters Monday with Nolan by her side. "Our goal is to put an end to the partisan divides and divisions and gridlock," Nolan added, "and to offer the people of the state of Minnesota a problem-solvers administration." The move comes just days after Minnesota Democrats refused to endorse Swanson during the party's state convention in Rochester, instead choosing Minneapolis attorney and DFL activist Matt Pelikan. (MPR News)
2. Republicans have their own primary. In St. Paul, the GOP's slate of endorsed candidates joined at a news conference where they vowed to "make Minnesota red." Johnson said he would travel the state to win over independent voters and new voters who turned out in 2016 to cast their ballots for President Donald Trump. Pawlenty spent the day flying around the state, with stops in Moorhead, Duluth, Rochester, Mankato and St. Paul. He applauded Swanson's decision to bypass her party convention, as he did as well. He said contested primaries are a better way to choose candidates than political endorsing conventions, because many more voters are involved. "This is noisy and it's fun," Pawlenty said. "It's good, it's raucous. I think it's going to be interesting for voters, I think it's going to be interesting for the state. It's going to be interesting for the Democratic Party and for the Republican Party. What the hell, let's have some fun." Johnson called Pawlenty's tour as out of touch, saying he'd make his own trips in his Jeep, or eventually a small RV. (Star Tribune)
3. New question. What will Keith Ellison do? The 5th District DFL congressman is considering running for Minnesota attorney general. Ellison’s interest in the attorney general job has been public record for some time: when Swanson flirted with running for governor earlier this year, the Minneapolis congressman put out feelers for an attorney general bid. Stories circulated in the Capitol Hill press about Ellison being unsatisfied in Washington, and particularly at the Democratic National Committee, where he has served as vice chair since February 2017 after losing a bid to chair the party to Tom Perez. Publicly, Ellison denied rumors of his dissatisfaction and downplayed any friction at the DNC. But sources close to Ellison indicated the congressman, a practicing attorney before he arrived in Congress in 2007, viewed the attorney general post as one where he could be more effective in countering the agenda of the Donald Trump administration. If he does run, it would set off a scramble for his congressional seat. Filing closes at the end of business today. (MinnPost)
4. Erin Maye Quade stumbles on ethanol. Erin Murphy's running mate Erin Maye Quade could not answer a question that has been asked of many running mates since it upended a 2006 campaign. When Forum News Service asked Maye Quade if she knew what E85 is, she replied “I am still learning a lot.” However, she said it sounded like something dealing with oil. E85 is a blend of 85 percent ethanol, usually made from corn, and 15 percent of gasoline. When Democratic governor candidate Mike Hatch’s running mate, Judi Dutcher, could not tell a television reporter what E85 is, it started a string of events that eventually was blamed for Hatch’s loss in 2006. Maye Quade, who lives in a Twin Cities suburb, said she has family in several parts of rural Minnesota, from the Iron Range to the southwest. On Twitter later Tuesday Maye Quade said she misspoke, and that she knows how important E-85 is to the state's economy and the livelihood of Minnesotans. (Capitol Chatter)
5. Stauber faces a primary challenge in the 8th. On Monday, Harry Welty filed in the 8th District race as a Republican, meaning Pete Stauber, despite being the unanimously endorsed GOP candidate, will be taken to the primary election on Aug. 14. "I couldn't live with myself if I let a Trump cheerleader go unchallenged," Welty said, before later explaining, "Pete is a decent guy, but he shouldn't be able to waltz into Congress where he'll be supportive of the president and an apologist for the president." Welty said he was prepared to run a "cash-starved campaign" in the face of Stauber's well-funded one. This was Welty's 16th or 17th filing for public office, said the one-time Duluth School Board member. Twice previously Welty has run failed campaigns for the 8th District office — as an independent in 1992 and 2006. Welty described himself as a moderate Republican who does not align with the far right and is no fan of President Donald Trump. (Duluth News Tribune)
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