Minnesota U.S. Senate candidate Royce White (R) tweeted out a map purporting to show that “crime in Minneapolis” is spinning “out of control.”
However, the map actually showed drinking fountains in the city.
GOP Candidate Faced Court Order Over Child Support
“Royce White, a George Floyd protest leader and former college basketball star-turned-right-wing Senate candidate in Minnesota, was ordered to catch up after he fell behind on court-mandated child support payments at least a half-dozen times from 2020 to 2023,” NBC News reports.
“White’s candidacy has generated new attention after the Minnesota Republican Party endorsed him this month at its state convention, where he won the support of two-thirds of the voting delegates.”
GOP Senate Candidate Spent Thousands on Strip Clubs
“At five in the morning one week after Republican Royce White lost his 2022 Minnesota congressional primary, his campaign shelled out more than $1,200 in donor funds to a vendor 1,800 miles away not typically associated with political expenses—an all-nude strip club in Miami, Florida, called ‘Gold Rush Cabaret,’” the Daily Beast reports.
“That is just one among dozens of outlandish but previously unreported payments that The Daily Beast has identified from White’s 2022 Federal Election Commission filings. Several campaign finance experts characterized some of the expenses as potentially illegal spending.”
Senate Candidate In Hospital for Emergency Surgery
U.S. Senate candidate Jason Lewis (R) is undergoing emergency surgery Monday for a severe internal hernia, the Minneapolis Star Tribune reports.
“The former congressman was experiencing abdominal pain and was hurried into the emergency room Monday morning for tests. Doctors determined he had a hernia, which could be life-threatening if it’s not treated fast.”
Senate Candidate Said GOP Has ‘Dual Loyalties’ to Israel
Minnesota U.S. Senate candidate Jason Lewis (R) once said Republicans had “dual loyalties” to Israel, adding that support for the country was the result of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee and a “very strong American Jewish lobby,” CNN reports.
Lewis said in a February 2013 radio show that many in the party viewed the country as the “51st state.” He claimed policymakers in President George W. Bush’s administration, including former UN Ambassador John Bolton, were dual citizens of Israel and the United States.
Democrats Lead In Both Minnesota Senate Races
A new Star Tribune/MPR News Minnesota Poll finds Sen. Tina Smith (D) just ahead of challenger Karin Housley (R) in the U.S. Senate race, 47% to 41%.
In Minnesota’s other Senate race, Sen. Amy Klombuchar (D) is headed for a landslide win over challenger Jim Newberger (R), 56% to 33%.
Senate Candidate Compared Michelle Obama to a Chimp
Minnesota U.S. Senate candidate Karin Housley (R) compared then-first lady Michelle Obama to a “chimp” in 2009 Facebook post, the HuffPost reports.
Housley is running against Sen. Tina Smith (D-MN).
Democrats Up Big In Minnesota
A new NBC News/Marist poll in Minnesota finds Sen. Tina Smith (D) leading challenger Karin Housley (R) among likely voters in the U.S. Senate race, 54% to 38%.
In Sen. Amy Klobuchar’s (D) reelection race, she leads opponent Jim Newberger (R) by 30 percentage points, 63% to 33%.
Key finding: “The poll finds that 53 percent of likely voters prefer a Congress controlled by Democrats after the November midterm elections, while 41 percent prefer Republicans.”
Bad News for Minnesota Republicans
A new Mason-Dixon poll in Minnesota finds President Trump’s approval rating has dropped from 45% to 39%, while 56% disapprove of his handling of the job.
“In other results, Democrats are safely ahead of Republicans in nearly every major statewide race. Rep. Tim Walz (D) leads Jeff Johnson (R) by 9 points in the governor’s race, Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D) is up big over Jim Newberger (R), and Sen. Tina Smith (D) leads state Sen. Karin Housley (R) by 7 points.”
“The only real bright spot for Republicans? Doug Wardlow (R) is within striking distance of Rep. Keith Ellison (D) in the attorney general contest, though still trailing by 5 percentage points, with 18 percent undecided. That’s after Ellison was accused by an ex-girlfriend of domestic abuse, which he denies.”
Bush Ethics Lawyer Will Run for Senate as a Democrat
“Richard Painter, a longtime Republican who was chief ethics lawyer for George W. Bush’s White House, intends to run for the U.S. Senate in Minnesota this year as a Democrat,” the Minneapolis Star Tribune reports.
“Painter, a persistent and frequent critic of President Donald Trump on national cable TV news appearances and on Twitter, is expected to announce his candidacy at a Monday news conference. … [The] seat is up this fall in a special election, and [Tina] Smith has said she intends to run for a full six-year term.”
Bachmann Says God Didn’t Want Her to Run
Former Rep. Michele Bachmannn (R-MN) told a radio host show that after much prayer, she has decided that God does not, in fact, want her to make a bid for U.S. Senate.
Said Bachmann: “I considered it for quite a long time. From the very first day when Al Franken had announced his resignation from the U.S. Senate, I went before the Lord and it became very clear to me that I wasn’t hearing any call from God to do this.”
Bachmann Gets a Message
A billboard in St. Paul, Minnesota, funded by “The Good Lord Above,” is sending former Rep. Michelle Bachmann (R-MN) the answer she was seeking.
Pawlenty Passes on Senate Run In Minnesota
Former Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty (R) told Fox Business that he will not run for the Senate this year in Minnesota.
Said Pawlenty: “I am very interested in public service and service for the common good, there are a lot of different ways to do that, but I’ll tell you today that running for the United States Senate in 2018 won’t be part of those plans.”
Politico: “Republican leaders have failed to secure their top-choice candidate in eight of the 10 Senate races in states that Trump won in 2016.”
Bachmann Is Asking God If She Should Run for Senate
Former Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-MN) revealed on the Jim Bakker Show that she is currently considering making a run for the U.S. Senate seat that is set to be vacated by Al Franken.
Bachmann said that she has “had people contact me and urge me to run for that Senate seat” and that she is asking God if doing so in His will for her.
Minnesotans Don’t Want Franken to Resign
A new Public Policy Polling survey in Minnesota finds that a majority of voters don’t think Sen. Al Franken (D-MN) should resign, 50% to 42%.
Franken’s continued popularity is being driven especially by women. 57% of them like the job he’s doing to 37% who don’t.
Keith Ellison Won’t Run for Senate
Rep. Keith Ellison (D-MN) will not run in Minnesota’s special U.S. Senate election in 2018, the Minneapolis Star Tribune reports.
“It remains to be seen if Tina Smith’s entry in the ‘18 race will clear the Democratic field in the race to replace Sen. Al Franken, who is resigning soon.”
Dayton Will Appoint Smith to Replace Franken
Minnesota Gov. Mark Dayton (D) will appoint Lt. Gov. Tina Smith (D) to replace Sen. Al Franken (D-MN) as Minnesota’s next U.S. senator until a special election is held next year, the Minneapolis Star Tribune reports.
Minnesota Public Radio says Smith will run in the special election for the seat in November.
The special election is expected to draw contenders on both sides. Even with Smith’s selection, Rep. Keith Ellison (D-MN) is mulling the race. Former GOP Gov. Tim Pawlenty (R) is being wooed by Republicans.
Carlson Wants Franken to Rescind His Resignation
Former Minnesota Gov. Arne Carlson (R) told Minnesota Public Radio that Sen. Al Franken (D-MN) should rescind his planned resignation and allow a formal ethics probe to continue in order to preserve due process.
