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Michelle Lee seeks DFL nomination in MN-8
On Feb. 15, former Duluth TV news anchor Michelle Lee joined a growing list of candidates for Congress in Minnesota’s Eighth District. Lee, who retired from KBJR-TV last year, represents a familiar face with an increasingly political voice in a wide open race to succeed Democratic Rep. Rick Nolan. Democracy is a messy, frustrating and…
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Joe Radinovich enters DFL race for Congress
Former State Rep. Joe Radinovich of Crosby announced today he would seek the DFL nomination for Minnesota’s Eighth Congressional District. Northeastern Minnesota is who I am, where I’m from, and what I’ll always fight for. I’ve spent my life fighting for working families, whether it be organizing for workers’ rights, promoting economic investment in northeastern…
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North Branch Mayor Kirsten Kennedy enters MN-8 race
Today, North Branch Mayor Kirsten Hagen Kennedy announced she will seek the DFL nomination for Congress in Minnesota’s Eighth Congressional District. Kennedy made news most recently as the guest of Congressman Rick Nolan at President Trump’s State of the Union Address. At that time, Nolan was a candidate for re-election. Since then, he announced he’s…
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Candidates mull suddenly wide open MN-8 race
UPDATE: I’ve created a special MN-8 page to provide up-to-date coverage of this race. Amid Friday’s stunning news that Rick Nolan would retire from Congress, we now try to sort out who else might run now that the seat is wide open. Of course, we know that DFLer Leah Phifer was already challenging Nolan for…
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Rick Nolan to retire from Congress leaving MN-8 wide open
U.S. Rep. Rick Nolan (D-MN8) announced this morning he will retire from Congress at the end of his current term. This leaves a wide open race for one of the most closely contested seats in the United States House of Representatives. Several news outlets reported the news this morning. Nolan, 74, has represented Northern Minnesota…
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IP touts Sandman candidacy in MN-8
Much has already been made of the contentious race in Minnesota’s Eighth Congressional District. But it bears mentioning we’re still only in the first act of a long play that will feature an appearance by Ray “Skip” Sandman on the Independence Party ticket in November. The IP issued a statement Wednesday welcoming former Green Party…
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Key takeaways from 2018 straw polls, precinct caucuses
Last night I joined a relatively small group of Minnesotans in attending my local party precinct caucus. I caucus with the Democratic-Farmer-Labor party, so we met at the Balsam Township Hall. The Republicans met in Grand Rapids at the middle school. Six people attended my caucus, including myself. I was prepared to remark that perhaps…
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The hidden importance of Tuesday’s precinct caucuses
With the Super Bowl in the state’s collective rear view mirror, Tuesday night brings the biennial tradition of Minnesota’s precinct caucuses. And while it might seem a precipitous drop-off in excitement, this year’s caucuses offer real world implications. Precinct caucuses are a strange quirk of this moralistic state that once placed tremendous value on grassroots…
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Leah Phifer announces DFL challenge in MN-8
This summer, national security analyst Leah Phifer of Isanti drove more than 7,000 miles of Minnesota’s 8th Congressional District on her motorcycle to meet voters and decide if she should run for Congress. Today, Phifer announced she would seek the DFL endorsement for the MN-8 seat, challenging incumbent U.S. Rep. Rick Nolan of Crosby. Though…
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Republican Pete Stauber to run for Congress in MN-8
(Post updated Monday, July 10) On Monday, St. Louis County Commissioner Pete Stauber of Hermantown announces a run for Congress in Northeastern Minnesota’s Eighth District. He becomes the first Republican challenger to incumbent U.S. Rep. Rick Nolan (DFL-Crosby) for the 2018 cycle. Stauber, a one-time West Duluth hockey star and longtime Duluth police officer, has…
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Leah Phifer explores DFL challenge to Nolan in MN-8
Rick Nolan might have ended his exploration of a gubernatorial run, but he returns to his Eighth District congressional race to find some intrigue. Leah Phifer, a FBI counterterrorism analyst from Isanti, announced Friday she would explore a run for the DFL nomination in MN-8. She’s making her decision in a unique way: a motorcycle tour…