Rep. Angie Craig (D-MN) has formally launched her campaign for U.S. Senate.
Tim Walz Won’t Run for Senate
Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz (D) will not run for Senate, and instead is considering running for re-election to a third term, the Minnesota Star Tribune reports.
He also won’t endorse in the Democratic primary.
Minnesota Senate to Leans Democratic
Larry Sabato’s Crystal Ball: “Sen. Tina Smith’s (D-MN) retirement prompted us to move the contest for her seat from Likely Democratic to Leans Democratic.”
“Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan (D) has already effectively jumped into the race, though other Democrats, especially from the state’s House delegation, could also join in.”
“While Republicans have not won a statewide race in Minnesota since 2006, their primary is already shaping up.”
Tim Walz Considers Senate Bid in Minnesota
Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz (D) is considering a run for Senate next year, Politico reports.
“His consideration of the seat comes after Sen. Tina Smith (D-MN) announced her retirement from the blue-leaning battleground on Thursday. Walz, the former vice presidential nominee, could also run for reelection as governor in 2026.”
“Already on Thursday, Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan kicked off a bid with a post on social media.”
Tina Smith Will Not Seek Another Term
Sen. Tina Smith (D-MN) announced she will not run for reelection in 2026, putting another Democratic seat in play on the Senate map.
Thirsty in Minneapolis
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.”
