Tag: midterm election

Grass-roots efforts aim to raise turnout in Third District

Republican U.S. Rep. Erik Paulsen and DFL challenger Dean Phillips at their debate earlier in the campaign. Credit: Glen Stubbe, StarTribune

In the competitive Third District race for Congress, pitting Republican U.S. Rep. Erik Paulsen against Democratic businessman and first-time candidate Dean Phillips, supporters on both sides are turning to grass-roots efforts in hopes of boosting the Nov. 6 turnout — and securing a victory.

At an Eden Prairie house in late August, a group of volunteers organized by progressive activists from Indivisible MN03 gathered over white wine and cheese plates to write out postcards to urge women to vote for Phillips. Indivisible picked out 12,000 women who are under age 35 and voted in the presidential election but not in the 2014 midterm, hoping to encourage like-minded voters to push Phillips to victory.

The group started sending out the postcards in February and will continue peppering the 12,000 voters through October with postcards, hoping the personal handwritten notes will resonate more than a fleeting Facebook post or TV ad. The group is also door-knocking throughout the district.

View the complete September 29 article by Kelly Smith on the StarTribune website here.

AARP POLL: 50+ Voters Could Decide Key Minnesota Races

ST. PAUL – A new poll released by AARP Minnesota today shows a large number of undecided 50 plus voters with less than two months to go until election day. The poll, which surveyed the opinions and concerns of 808 voters over the age of 50, found that 19 percent were undecided in the Gubernatorial election and 21 percent were undecided in the open U.S. Senate race. Given their historically large turnout percentages in off-year elections, these undecided older voters will likely decide who represents Minnesota at the highest levels of government.

  • In the Governor’s race 43 percent of voters surveyed support Tim Walz, while 36 percent are supporting Jeff Johnson with 19 percent remaining undecided.
  • In the Special U.S. Senate race 42 percent indicate support for Tina Smith, with 36 percent supporting Karin Housley and 21% undecided.

Full Poll Results

“The message of this poll is that the 50-plus voting block is still up for grabs and candidates need to start paying attention to older voters,” said Will Phillips, AARP Minnesota Director.  “Despite being the largest voting bloc in each and every election, older voters are often taken for granted by candidates and campaigns.  That is reflected in this poll.  Candidates aren’t speaking to issues that matter to 50-plus voters and as a result many of them are still undecided.

View the complete post by Seth Boffeli on the AARP Minnesota website.

Worst-case scenario for House GOP is 70-seat wipeout

The following article by Reid Wilson was posted on the Hill website August 17, 2018:

Democratic enthusiasm and a GOP malaise surrounding President Trumphave set the stage for a potentially devastating midterm election for the House Republican majority.

In a series of special elections mostly in reliably GOP districts, Democratic candidates have routinely outperformed Hillary Clinton’s share of the vote from 2016.

At the same time, Republican candidates have underperformed President Trump’s vote share in all but two special elections.

View the complete article here.