34 days until the Aug. 14 primary
73 days until no excuse absentee balloting opens for the Nov. 6 election
119 days until Election Day
2018 Election — Primary
Early voting now open. Go to dfl.org/voteearly to fill out an application to vote by mail. You can vote in person at your county courthouse or government center. Click here for a list of cities where you can vote early in person.
University of Minnesota students unionize while working political campaign, KSTP
2018 Legislative Session
What was accomplished and what was left for next year, Minnesota Budget Project
Attorney General
Instead of being depressed by Trump’s victory, Matt Pelikan decided to run for Minnesota attorney general, MinnPost
Congress
Paulsen, in first TV ad, highlights break from Trump, Star Tribune
GOP Paulsen paddles away from Trump in first ad, Star Tribune
Angie Craig, the DFL-endorsed candidate in CD 2, announced that her campaign will report raising more than $1 million during the second quarter of 2018. The period covers the months of April, May and June. The total fundraising amount is one of the largest in the nation this past quarter for a Congressional challenger. This is the third quarterly report from Craig for the cycle. More than 34,000 individual donors have given contributions averaging $44 to Craig’s campaign for Congress. Craig Campaign
Georgia
Georgia Lt. Gov. Casey Cagle privately complained to one of his GOP primary opponents that their race for governor had become about “who had the biggest gun, who had the biggest truck and who could be the craziest.” Washington Post
Governor
Murphy tours state to champion single-payer health care, Mankato Free Press
Murphy seeks to shake up health care as governor, MPR
Murphy looks to sell health care vision at Rochester campaign stop, KTTC
Watch DFL gubernatorial candidate Erin Murphy in Winona unveil her play for single payer healthcare, Winona Daily News
Health Care
Trump administration slashes Affordable Care Act sign up, Star Tribune
NATO Summit
Steady drum of Trump’s anti-Germany remarks raises questions, MPR
Nonprofits
University of Minnesota student group launches new nonprofit: Women for Political Change, U of M Daily
Redistricting
“Former President Barack Obama is the star of a new video released Wednesday to promote the National Democratic Redistricting Committee, an organization aimed at battling partisan redistricting led by his former Attorney General Eric Holder. In the nearly three-minute video for the organization, Obama advocates ‘rethinking the way we draw our congressional districts.’
“Today, technology lets the party in power precision-draw the map in a way that packs the other party’s supporters into as few congressional districts as possible. It’s why your district might be shaped like a corkscrew. But it’s also how a party gains more seats while winning fewer votes, which isn’t fair,” he says, adding, “It means that politicians don’t have to worry as much about a serious challenge from the other side. That moves our debate from the rational, reasonable middle where most Americans are to the extremes.” CNN
Trade War
Stocks skid as trade war talk worsens with new tariff threats, Star Tribune
China vows retaliation for latest U.S. tariff threat, MPR
Trump’s First Day Axios
- Trump accused Germany of being “totally controlled” by Russia in comments about their proposed Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline.
- German Chancellor Angela Merkel replied that she’d already “experienced the Soviet occupation … it is good that we are independent today.”
- Trump called on NATO members to double their defense spending commitment to 4%. (The U.S. is at 3.5 percent). Only five nations (if you include Poland at 1.99 percent) currently meet the 2 percent target for 2024.
Twitter
In an attempt to clean up its platform, Twitter is removing millions of fake, spammy or just plain mean accounts. Apparently a lot of those accounts follow celebrities and politicians. The Post’s Elizabeth Dwoskin reports that Tuesday night Trump lost about 100,000 of his 53.4 million followers and President Barack Obama lost 400,000 of his 104 million followers. Washington Post
U.S. Supreme Court
Upcoming Events
- Today through August 13 — Primary early voting. More information here.
- July 12, 6:00 PM — SD34 DFL Marching in the Maple Grove Days Parade
- July 12, 7:00 PM — SD48 DFL Central Committee Meeting, Glen Lake Activity Center, 14350 Excelsior Blvd, Minnetonka, MN 55345
- July 13, 12:00 PM — Stand Against Trump, SD40 DFL Treasurer John Schafer is holding a weekly hour of protest and resistance on Fridays from 12pm to 1pm at the corner of Brookdale & Xerxes in Brooklyn Park.
- July 14, 10:00 AM — SD34 DFL at the Maple Grove Business Expo, Maple Grove Community Center, 12951 Weaver Lake Rd, Maple Grove, MN 55369.
- July 14, 11:00 PM — DFL Feminist Caucus Annual Meeting, SEIU Local 26, 825 18th Ave NE, Minneapolis, MN 55418
- July 16, 7:00 PM — Brooklyn Park DFL Meeting, Brooklyn Park Public Library, 6500 W Broadway, Brooklyn Park, MN
- July 20, 12:00 PM — Stand Against Trump, SD40 DFL Treasurer John Schafer is holding a weekly hour of protest and resistance on Fridays from 12pm to 1pm at the corner of Brookdale & Xerxes in Brooklyn Park.
- July 21, 10:00 AM — SD33 DFL marching in the Mound Spirit of the Lakes Parade
- July 21, 12:00 PM — SD49 DFL Annual Summer Picnic, Rosland Park, 4300 W 66th St, Edina, MN 55435
- July 24, 7:00 PM — SD34 DFL Executive Committee Meeting
- July 27, 12:00 PM — Stand Against Trump, SD40 DFL Treasurer John Schafer is holding a weekly hour of protest and resistance on Fridays from 12pm to 1pm at the corner of Brookdale & Xerxes in Brooklyn Park.
- July 31, 7:00 PM — SD37 DFL Central Committee Meeting, check their Facebook page for location