26 days until the Aug. 14 primary
64 days until no excuse absentee balloting opens for the Nov. 6 election
110 days until Election Day
2018 election — Primary
Voting is now open! Go to dfl.org/voteearly to request an absentee ballot to vote by mail or vote in person at your county courthouse or government center. Check here for a list of cities that provide in-person early voting.
2018 Election — Governor
The Sierra Club will endorse Rep. Erin Murphy for governor. morningtake
2018 Election — Congress
“These guys need to wake up’: House Republicans badly outraised for mid-term elections, Politico
The Dean Phillips campaign will launch ErikPaulsen.org, a site critical of Paulsen’s acceptance of PAC money – a recurring theme of the Phillips campaign against Paulsen. morning take
2018 Election — Senate
GOP Senate candidate Karin Housley tweets, deletes ‘Pow Wow’ picture, City Pages
Economy
Walmart keeps the top spot for the fifth consecutive year in FORTUNE’s annual Global 500 list, ranking the world’s largest corporations by revenue:
- Walmart (U.S.)
- State Grid (China)
- Sinopec Group (China)
- China Natural Petroleum (China)
- Royal Dutch Shell (Netherlands)
- Toyota Motor (Japan)
- Volkswagen (Germany)
- BP (Britain)
- Exxon Mobil (U.S.)
- Berkshire Hathaway (U.S.)
Editor-in-Chief Clifton Leaf: “A decade ago, America was home to nearly a third (153) of the world’s 500 largest companies by revenue … Our share is now a quarter (126). Over the same 10 years, meanwhile, China boosted its own representation on this venerable list from 29 companies to 111.” Axios
Elections
Lewis, Jason
A GOP congressman once lamented about not being able to call women ‘sluts’ anymore, CNN
Congressman Lewis made disparaging remarks about women on radio show, Star Tribune
Paulsen, Erik
Vigil against Corruption at Rep. Paulsen’s office:
Tariffs
How Trump’s tariffs on Mexico are taking jobs from U.S. workers, Washington Post
Trump
Trump’s unapologetic apology, MinnPost
Top Democrats shy away from the word ‘treason’ with Trump, Star Tribune
Trump vows to hold second meeting with Putin, The Hill
The last 72 hours have made one thing very clear: What Donald Trump says may not be what he means. Or maybe it is. Who’s to know?
- Tuesday was dominated by “would”-gate. Trump made the very rare attempt at a correction of his comments Monday at the summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin when he said, “I don’t see any reason why it would be” Russia meddling in the election. What Trump really meant to say, he explained, was “I don’t see any reason why it wouldn’t be.” Explained Trump: “In a key sentence in my remarks I said the word ‘would’ instead of ‘wouldn’t.'”
- Wednesday was all about the “no.” Asked by ABC’s Cecilia Vega whether “Russia [is] still targeting the US?” Trump responded, “Thank you very much, no.” That “no” directly contradicted the conclusions offered by, among other, Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, repeatedly over the past year.
- But wait! Trump wasn’t actually answering Vega’s question, according to White House press secretary Sarah Sanders: “The President was saying ‘no’ to answering questions,” she said, with a straight face. Left unanswered was why Trump then went on to take more questions.
- So. Here we are. We’ve gone from Trump accusing the media of being “fake news” for reporting on what he says to actually debating over whether what he said was what he meant. CNN
Elected Republicans go silent so quickly when they disagree so strongly with President Trump because they fear it’s political suicide to speak up. A whopping 79 percent of Republicans approved of Trump’s handling of Vladimir Putin at the post-summit press conference. This poll foreshadows the coming national drama. Every piece of data, and virtually every public action of elected Republican officials, shows Trump will have overwhelming and probably unbreakable party support, regardless of what Robert Mueller finds with his Russia probe. Axios
Women’s Health
What would happen in Minnesota if Roe v. Wade was overturned? MPR
Upcoming DFL Events
- Today through August 13 — Primary early voting. More information here.
- 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, 6:30 PM — State DFL OIC Meeting, DFL Headquarters, 255 Plato Blvd, St. Paul, MN 55107.
- July 31, 7:00 PM — SD37 DFL Central Committee Meeting, check their Facebook page for location
- August 1, 7:00 PM — SD33 DFL Central Committee Meeting, location TBD
- August 3, 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.
- August 4 — SD34 DFL at Lions’ Park, Maple Grove, MN, more information as it becomes available.