Tag: 2018 election

Return Steve Simon as Minnesota secretary of state

Minnesota Secretary of State Steve Simon toured the Ramsey County elections office in 2016 with elections manager Joe Mansky. Simon seeks re-election this year.

Steve Simon likes to say that he’s in the “democracy business.”

Business is brisk under Simon’s watch as Minnesota’s secretary of state, with voter turnout among the highest nationwide for nearly every election. For that and other key reasons, Minnesotans should re-elect Simon on Nov. 6.

Of course, some will have already voted before Election Day during the “no-excuses” absentee voting period. That expanded capability to engage in our democracy can be credited in part to a bill sponsored by Simon during his days as a DFL legislator from St. Louis Park. Those efforts have paid off, with 2018 vote totals already far surpassing the pace of the 2014 midterms and even the hotly contested 2016 presidential election.

The expanded access reflects Simon’s belief in bolstering participation in elections, and by extension our collective civic life. It’s an ethos that stands in stark contrast to the disgraceful, antidemocratic attempts to suppress voting through onerous, often racially motivated restrictions enacted in North Dakota, Georgia and several other states this year.

View the complete October 26 editorial by the Star Tribune Editorial Board October 26, 2018 here.

Tim Walz, a uniter, for governor

Minnesota needs a uniter in the governor’s office over the next four years. This state’s success was built on its people’s capacity to come together to solve problems and seize opportunities. That capacity has eroded, in part because two decades of divide-and-conquer politics have pitted regions, races, genders and generations against one other.

Rebuilding a “One Minnesota” ethos in this state’s politics and government is crucial to sustaining prosperity and quality of life. DFLer Tim Walz’s aptitude and enthusiasm for that work make him better-suited than Republican Jeff Johnson to be Minnesota’s next governor. We recommend Walz’s election on Nov. 6.

“One Minnesota” is more than a slogan for Walz. His personal story, public record, policy positions and campaign performance all buttress his promise to bring bridge-building leadership to the governor’s office.

View the complete October 26 editorial by the Star Tribune Editorial Board on their website here.

DFL GOTV Bus Tour kicks off Thursday, Nov. 1 at 8:30 a.m. at State Capitol

A Minnesota for All

Minnesota is the epicenter of the 2018 election. With two U.S. Senate seats up, Minnesota has its longest ballot in about 50 years. On Nov. 6, Minnesotans will not only decide who controls state government and the constitutional offices, but candidates for Congress will impact political control on the national level.

DFL Chairman Ken Martin said to build on the energy and excitement DFL candidates are generating across the state, the DFL will host a 2018 DFL GOTV Bus Tour. The 5-day tour kicks off Thursday, Nov. 1 at 8:30 a.m. on the State Capitol Aurora Promenade.        

“During the tour, our candidates will encourage people to volunteer and vote,” Martin said. “With affordable and accessible health care, a world-class education for our children and making sure all voice are heard on the line, the stakes of an election have never been higher. Voters are responding to our candidates’ messages of building a Minnesota where everyone has opportunities to succeed. We look forward to taking that message across the state.” Continue reading “DFL GOTV Bus Tour kicks off Thursday, Nov. 1 at 8:30 a.m. at State Capitol”

DNC Launches New Campaign: ‘Vote For Me’

Today, the DNC launched a new campaign to urge Democratic voters to vote in the midterm elections. Watch and see what’s at stake through the eyes of kids, who could stand to lose the most in the midterm elections. They can’t vote – but you can.

This is the vote of our lifetime. It is an election like no other we’ve seen and there is so much at stake. Make a plan today for how you’re going to vote and visit IWillVote.com for help. To reach the DNC Voter Hotline: call 833-336-8683 or text QUESTION to 43367.

Alaya, age 10: “If I had lost my medicine, I don’t know what I would ever do. That would lead me to death, and I don’t understand why people would think to do that.”

Belia, age 13: “When I see them on TV taking kids away from their parents, it’s scary.”

Austin, age 15: “I heard if you zigzag when you run, like the shooter’s less likely to shoot you. So I’ve always been thinking, like, if a shooter ever comes into a classroom, like, I would like run through the back door and like zigzag out of the school. So like, I think about that on a daily basis.” Continue reading “DNC Launches New Campaign: ‘Vote For Me’”

Russian woman charged with interfering in midterm elections

The Department of Justice (DOJ) on Friday charged a Russian woman with participating in a conspiracy to influence next month’s midterm elections, underlying the degree to which Moscow is seeking to interfere in the United States.

The timing of the complaint, which was unsealed as U.S. intelligence officials issued a warning on foreign influence campaigns, sends a dire message to voters on the scope of the efforts to sway U.S. opinion, even as no evidence points to interference with U.S. election infrastructure.

“We are concerned about ongoing campaigns by Russia, China and other foreign actors, including Iran, to undermine confidence in democratic institutions and influence public sentiment and government policies,” the joint statement from the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, Justice Department, FBI and Department of Homeland Security said. “These activities also may seek to influence voter perceptions and decision making in the 2018 and 2020 U.S. elections.”

View the complete October 19 article by Jacqueline Thomsen on the Hill website here.

The state of the battle for the House of Representatives, explained

Republicans are playing whack-a-mole in their struggle to keep the chamber.

Paul Ryan at the Capitol on September 13, 2018. Credit: Astrid Riecken, Getty Images

Three weeks before the 2018 midterms, more than a dozen Republican-held House seats appear to have tipped toward Democrats — and dozens more are in play too, according to polls and expert race ratings. Meanwhile, only a handful of Democrat-held seats appear to be in danger of flipping to the GOP.

The magic number for Democrats is 24: that is, they need to pick up, on net, 24 seats from Republicans to cement a House majority.

Currently, there are not yet that many individual contests in which Democrats are believed to have a solid advantage over GOP candidates. If we exclude toss-up contests and look only at how many races are at least leaning toward flipping, the Cook Political Report currently has Democrats favored to gain 15 seats on net. FiveThirtyEight has them clearly favored to net around 22, which would be agonizingly close.

Yet here’s the thing: There are many more remaining toss-up and other competitive contests — and they’re overwhelmingly in Republican-held districts.

View the complete October 16 article by Andrew Prokop on the Vox.com website here.

Retiring Speaker Ryan in campaign push for imperiled Republicans

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Retiring U.S. House Speaker Paul Ryan on Monday launched a whirlwind tour of a dozen states, where he aims to pump up the campaigns of 25 embattled Republican members of Congress as the party fights to keep control of Congress.

With three weeks until the Nov. 6 congressional elections, most projections show Democrats holding a strong chance of gaining the 23 seats they would need to take a majority of that chamber and more effectively counter President Donald Trump.

Ryan will begin campaigning in the northeast, where he will appear with Representatives John Faso in New York and Leonard Lance in New Jersey, then go on to the Midwest next week to back Erik Paulsen in Minnesota and Rod Blum of Iowa and later return to the East Coast to campaign with Dave Brat of Virginia and Ted Budd of North Carolina.

View the complete article on the KFGO website here.

Paulsen is not Mr. Nice Guy

To the Editor:

Political candidates should talk about what they are going to do for our district instead of trashing their opponent. I am disgusted by Erik Paulsen’s negative TV ads opposing Dean Phillips. They constitute a Trump-worthy, personal smear campaign.

I cringe and mute the TV or change channels every time they come on. Based not on factual information but partial truth and innuendo, I see traces of antisemitism at the margins of these ads. I hope my district will not be fooled by the special interests funding them. We are smart enough to see through the tactics of using character assassination to get votes.

The Minnesota I know and love deserves representation for all of us in the 3rd Congressional District, regardless of party. We deserve and should demand a representative with civility who examines the issues, listens to all sides of an argument and builds consensus. Erik Paulsen won’t meet with his constituents, publishes strategic photo ops with veterans and makes school visits to court the 18-year-old vote. These are all superficial attempts to portray himself as Mr. Nice Guy. He is not. He votes the conservative Republican agenda 97.8 percent of the time, according to ABC’s FiveThirtyEight. We do not need Donald Trump representing the 3rd District. Please vote for Dean Phillips.

Mary Jane Miller, Minnetonka
MInnetonka Sun-Sailor, October 15, 2018