Daily Digest: The Trump factor in the 8th District
Good Monday morning. Let the Daily Digest catch you up on some political stories you might've missed over the weekend.
1. 8th District looms in battle for House. President Trump narrowly lost Minnesota two years ago but he won big in the 8th District — by nearly 16 percentage points. Even so, DFL U.S. Rep. Rick Nolan managed to hold on to his seat. Nolan is not running for re-election. Republicans hope strong support for Trump in northern Minnesota will help them flip the open seat. In 2016 Democrats held off Republicans in the 8th District race by less than one-half of a percentage point. (MPR News)
2. Johnson traces gubernatorial aspirations to Reagan. After three or four years in the Minnesota House of Representatives, Jeff Johnson knew that he wanted to be governor someday. “If you actually want to change things, that is the place to do it,” he says. But his political aspirations took root decades earlier. He had just turned 13 when he watched on TV as Ronald Reagan announced his presidential run in 1979. Reagan, he said, made being conservative cool. He worked on legislative races as a teen and at Concordia College. Those experiences put Johnson, now 51, on a path to the Legislature, a run for attorney general, the Hennepin County Board, a 2014 bid for governor — and now a second shot at the job he covets most. (Star Tribune)
3. Walz, Johnson offer different approaches on guns, personally and politically. Tim Walz, the Democrat with the “F” grade from the NRA, wants to ban bump stocks, expand background checks and give courts the authority to temporarily take away someone’s guns if the person is deemed a threat, as well as ban “military-style assault rifles” in Minnesota. Jeff Johnson, the Republican with the NRA’s “A” grade and endorsement, wants none of that. He opposes any tightening of gun laws. Guess which of the two candidates for Minnesota governor owns more guns. (Pioneer Press)
4. Paulsen, Phillips debate. Republican Rep. Erik Paulsen and Democrat Dean Phillips went head-to-head Friday on the rising cost of health care, the 2017 tax bill and veracity of television ads inundating voters.The candidates for congress in Minnesota's 3rd District debated live on MPR News, a rare joint appearance in a campaign that's been mostly defined by the millions spent on television ads. The suburban Minneapolis district is a battleground in the race to control the U.S. House, and Democrats think they have a shot to topple the five-term congressman in an area that supported Hillary Clinton two years ago. (MPR News)
5. Headwear costs reporter his job. A southern Minnesota television reporter who wore a "Make America Great Again" hat to a Trump rally that he was covering has been fired.(Star Tribune)
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