Tag: Minnesota

Senator Amy Klobuchar, of Minnesota, has joined the crowded field of Democratic candidates for 2020 that includes a historic number of women seeking the presidency. The three-term senator, who is often characterized as “Minnesota nice” amid the rough-and-tumble of politics, is looking to be a foil to Donald Trump’s brash personality and often vitriolic rhetoric. She stood outdoors in thick falling snow in Minneapolis on Sunday afternoon to declare: “In our nation’s heartland at a time when we must heal the heart of our democracy … I stand before you … as the first woman elected to the US Senate from Minnesota to announce my candidacy for president of the United States.” Amy Klobuchar rails at ‘shutdowns and putdowns’ in speech for 2020 race Read more Klobuchar on Sunday joined a jam-packed field that includes several of her Senate colleagues, including Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, Kirsten Gillibrand of New York, Kamala Harris of California, and Cory Booker of New Jersey, as well as the former San Antonio mayor Julian Castro and Hawaii Representative Tulsi Gabbard. She launched her candidacy at an outdoor event in Minneapolis on Sunday afternoon. A report in the Huffington Post said that at least three people withdrew from consideration to lead her forthcoming campaign — in part because of Klobuchar’s history of mistreating her staff and “bursts of cruelty”, despite being “beloved” in her home state as smart, funny and personable. A spokesperson for Klobuchar’s campaign put out a statement that began: “Senator Klobuchar loves her staff” and defending her record as an employer. Unlike some of her fellow senators, Klobuchar has kept a low profile in Washington. She is neither the progressive firebrand that is Warren nor has the vast social media following that transformed Booker into a star. Who's running in 2020? She has many staff who have been with her for years – including her Chief of Staff and her State Director, who have worked for her for 5 and 7 years respectively, as well as her political advisor Justin Buoen, who has worked for her for 14 years — and many who have gone on to do amazing things, from working in the Obama Administration (over 20 of them) to running for office to even serving as the Agriculture Commissioner for Minnesota,” a campaign spokesperson said in the statement.

WASHINGTON – A new controversy involving Democratic Rep. Ilhan Omar and Israel erupted on Sunday, when the Minnesota Congresswoman wrote on Twitter that support for Israel in the United States was “all about the Benjamins,” referring to Benjamin Franklin, whose image appears on $100 bills. Bad form, Congresswoman. That's the second anti-Semitic trope you've tweeted.” In reply, Omar wrote: “AIPAC!” The American Israel Public Affairs Committee is the most influential U.S. lobby group supporting the Israeli government. AIPAC responded to the controversy with a short statement: “We are proud that we are engaged in the democratic process to strengthen the U.S.-Israel relationship. Our bipartisan efforts are reflective of American values and interests. We will not be deterred in any way by ill-informed and illegitimate attacks on this important work.” >> Republicans spoke up against Steve King. "Implying that Americans support Israel because of money alone is offensive," he wrote. The American Jewish Committee also criticized Omar, saying she should apologize: “Suggesting that a Jewish organization is buying off American politicians is both demonstrably false and stunningly anti-Semitic. He also accused Omar of “shameful bigoted hate-mongering.” Last month Omar apologized for saying "Israel has hypnotized the world" to carry out "evil" in a 2012 tweet. The tweet was brought up by critics after Omar's election to Congress for its alleged anti-Semitic undertones.

(MINNEAPOLIS) — Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar on Sunday joined the growing group of Democrats jostling to be president and positioned herself as the most prominent Midwestern candidate in the field, as her party tries to win back voters in a region that helped put Donald Trump in the White House. I will focus on getting things done. I don’t come from money. She has drawn support from voters in urban, suburban and rural areas, including in dozens of counties Trump won in 2016. The field soon could expand to include prominent Democrats such as former Vice President Joe Biden of Delaware and Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders. “I don’t know that coming from Minnesota gives her any advantage with Iowans.” Klobuchar, 58, is known as a straight-shooting, pragmatist willing to work with Republicans, making her one of the Senate’s most productive members at passing legislation. “We worked across the aisle to get the federal funding and we rebuilt that I-35W bridge — in just over a year. That’s ordinary people doing extraordinary things,” she said. When Klobuchar asked Kavanaugh whether he ever had had so much to drink that he didn’t remember what happened, he turned the question around. Kavanaugh later apologized to Klobuchar, whose father is an alcoholic.

Or is it just a love a politics? A coach of the Minneapolis Roosevelt squad wondered in a Facebook post about the intent of unfurling the sign at a basketball game on Tuesday night in Jordan. “I coach a predominantly black inner city high school team,” Michael Walker wrote on his Facebook page. “We go out to a rural area in Jordan, MN and this is there. Please explain how and why this is appropriate at a high school basketball game?” Jordan beat Minneapolis Roosevelt 67-to-58. This afternoon, Matthew Helgerson, the superintendent of Jordan Public Schools, released this statement: The Jordan School District is aware of concerns that have been raised about the events that occurred at the Boys Basketball game on January 15, 2019, where our team hosted the Minneapolis Roosevelt High School team. The School District takes these concerns seriously and is reviewing this matter and collecting information. We cannot discuss the details as to the events that occurred or the School District’s review as this information is classified as non-public, private student data. However, we are working cooperatively with the Minneapolis School District and Roosevelt High School in our review and response to this event. (h/t: Paul Tosto)

Will she or won't she? That's the question swirling around Democratic Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar as she considers a run for president. "I think the odds of her getting in are better than 50-50," former Minnesota DFL Party Chairman Brian Melendez said. "She's been the most popular politician in this state for more than a decade, and it's hard to have numbers like that and not see a president when you look in the mirror." "I think it's great if she does, it's always great to see Minnesotans in the race," Zellers said. "Unfortunately she can't get to the left of some of the characters that are going to be in the race and I feel bad for her. Because I think it will be her trying to be something that's not her brand, which is working together, bipartisan. She's going to have to go to the left of the left of Elizabeth Warren, and I don't know where that territory is in the Midwest." You can hear more on Klobuchar and other Minnesota political issues on "At Issue with Tom Hauser" Sunday at 10 a.m. If Amy Klobuchar decides to run for president, she would become the eighth Minnesotan to do so.

In fact, the 2018 election in Minnesota saw an unprecedented amount of political advertising: $120 million was spent on 671,000 political ads on television, cable and radio to influence voting. The data — which detailed political ad purchases at every TV, cable and radio station in Minnesota — was collected on a week-by-week basis, providing an opportunity to study election advertising by campaigns and outside groups in close-to-real time. About $23 million in ads ran on those stations two years ago, compared with almost $43 million this year. While Minnesota may not get the same attention in 2020 as it did in 2018, big spending is here to stay, said Steven Schier, professor emeritus of political science at Carleton College. Republican candidates spent $14 million. Paulsen lost despite spending the most on TV and radio ads of any congressional candidate in the state. But outside interest groups spent more money on ads than candidates – about $75 million across the state. Of the 11 major races in Minnesota, seven of the candidates who won spent more on TV and radio advertising than their opponents. She also spent almost double the amount of money advertising that Lewis did: more than $4.4 million vs. his $2.3 million. The endowment was created to put students and professors together to produce and publish professional-quality work as part of a class at the journalism school.

Keith Ellison's ex-girlfriend Karen Monahan accuses the Democratic leader of emotional and physical abuse. She speaks out on 'Tucker Carlson Tonight.' FOX News Channel (FNC) is a 24-hour all-encompassing news service dedicated to delivering breaking news as well as political…

CNN's Ana Cabrera talks to a panel of suburban Minnesota female voters about what issues are getting them to go to the polls and how they think President Trump, GOP and Democrats are doing. #midterms #femalevote #CNN #News

The Story:  Keith Ellison, the deputy chair of the Democratic National Committee, has become a target of accusations of abuse in this age of #MeToo....

RNC Chair Ronna McDaniel responds to Democrats focusing on primaries in Wisconsin and Minnesota in their midterm push. FOX News Channel (FNC) is a 24-hour all-encompassing news service dedicated to delivering breaking news as well as political and business news.…