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With an insider’s eye, Hot Dish tracks the tastiest bits of Minnesota’s political scene and keep you up-to-date on those elected to serve you.

Contributors in Minnesota: Jennifer Brooks, Baird Helgeson, Mike Kaszuba, Patricia Lopez, Jim Ragsdale, Brad Schrade and Rachel E. Stassen-Berger. Contributors in D.C.: Kevin Diaz and Corey Mitchell.

Posts about 2012 Presidential election

Romney's son rallies with Minnesota Republicans

Posted by: Kevin Diaz Updated: November 5, 2012 - 4:41 PM

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History will tell if Minnesota breaks its 36-year streak of voting for Democrats in presidential elections, but Josh Romney, one of GOP candidate Mitt Romney’s five sons, was rallying the Minnesota Republican faithful Monday at a gathering in Plymouth.
 
Accompanied by two of his own children, the younger Romney donned a casual sweater and blue jeans to thank volunteers at a Republican phone bank operation that is trying to turn out the vote for his father and flip Minnesota away from President Barack Obama, who leads in the state.
 
“I love being on the campaign trail for my dad,” Romney said. “He’s my hero.”
 
Republican National committee (RNC) Chairman Reince Priebus helped rally the conservative troops at another rally later in the day in Burnsville.

Marvin Windows gives Obama hope, but Romney its endorsement

Posted by: Kevin Diaz Updated: November 4, 2012 - 8:06 PM

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In his acceptance speech at the Democratic National Convention in September, President Barack Obama singled out Minnesota's Marvin Windows and Doors for inspiration on how to weather a tough economy. 
 
"The family business in Warroad, Minnesota that didn't lay off a single one of their four thousand employees during this recession, even when their competitors shut down dozens of plants, even when it meant the owners gave up some perks and pay -- because they understood their biggest asset was the community and the workers who helped build that business -- they give me hope," Obama said.
 
But the inspiration, apparently, is not mutual.
 
At a Twin Cities airport rally Sunday with GOP vice presidential nominee Paul Ryan, a member of the Marvin family took the stage to endorse Mitt Romney.
 
“Job creation is core to the Romney-Ryan team,” said Susan Marvin, president of Marvin Windows. “Business is not the enemy. Business creates jobs.”
 
Obama has called out to Marvin Windows before, although it is well-known that that the family generally supports Republicans, having given GOP candidates tens of thousands of dollars over the last several years.

Ryan stopping in Minnesota on Sunday

Posted by: Rachel E. Stassen-Berger Updated: November 1, 2012 - 10:11 PM

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Just days before voters go to the polls, Republican vice presidential nominee Paul Ryan will join a rally in Minnesota Sunday.

According to an invitation to the event, Ryan, a Wisconsin congressman, will headline an afternoon rally at the Sun County hangar at the Minneapolis-St. Paul airport.

The visit marks the first time that Ryan has held a public event in his neighboring state and marks a new notch on Minnesota's swing state belt. Until last week, neither Romney nor Obama's campaign targeted Minnesota but after a few polls showed Republican Mitt Romney within points of President Obama's lead, they have started giving the state a little more attention.

Both the Romney and the Obama campaigns have begun running ads in the state, joined by the Republican National Committee and the pro-Romney Restore Our Future.

Obama officials, who have long had staffers and campaign offices in Minnesota, have said they are running ads to match the new Republican ad campaign but are confident they will keep Minnesota blue.

But Republican officials point to former President Bill Clinton's rallies in Minnesota this week and see signs of weakness in the state's long-running tradition of voting for Democrats in presidential elections.

Doors open for the Ryan event at 1:30 p.m. on Sunday and the event starts at 3:30 p.m. People can get tickets online at http://www.mittromney.com/mn.

 

Amid increased Obama activity in Minnesota, campaign says Romney just pretending it's winnable

Posted by: Rachel E. Stassen-Berger Updated: October 29, 2012 - 10:56 AM

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Although the Obama campaign is sending former President Clinton to Minnesota and has started running ads in the state, key Obama staffers said Monday morning Republican Mitt Romney's momentum in Minnesota is "pretend."

"The Romney campaign wants you to think it’s expanding the map but it’s not," said Jim Messina, President Barack Obama's campaign manager. "Romney is pretending he’s got a shot in state’s like in Pennsylvania and Minnesota. We expect the Romney campaign to visit an out of play state this week to pretend like they have some momentum there."

A Star Tribune Minnesota Poll over the weekend found Obama with 3 percentage point lead over Romney, predicting a far tighter race than both campaigns appear to have assumed. 

Obama campaign senior advisor David Axelrod said the Obama campaign is running ads in Minnesota because the Romney campaign began advertising in the state. 

"We are not going to surrender any territory," he said on a conference call with reporters.

Republicans see evidence that the Democrats are clearly scared Minnesota is on the verge of slipping away from them.

"No matter how you slice it, President Obama’s map is shrinking while Governor Romney’s momentum and plan for a real economic recovery is forcing the president’s campaign to spend critical campaign cash to defend states they once thought were safe,"  said Ryan Mahoney, Regional Press Secretary for the Republican National Committee in an email to reporters over the weekend.

 

 

As presidential race tightens, President Clinton plans a Minnesota visit

Posted by: Rachel E. Stassen-Berger Updated: October 29, 2012 - 6:56 PM

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Updated

As the presidential race narrows in Minnesota, former President Bill Clinton is planning to visit here this week to shore up support for President Barack Obama.

Details of the Tuesday visit are still being worked out.

Clinton will visit the University of Minnesota's McNamara Alumni Center in Minneapolis Tuesday morning and then make a stop at Duluth's Kirby Ballroom at the University of Minnesota Duluth for a noontime event.

The former president's visit is part of a Midwest swing that includes Minnesota, Iowa, Colorado, Ohio, Virginia, New Hampshire and Wisconsin, the Obama campaign said. All year, the six other states have been considered battleground areas in the presidential race. 

Minnesota has not been on that swing state list but a Star Tribune Minnesota Poll, published Sunday, shows a newly tight race between Obama and Republican Mitt Romney. The poll found Obama with a 3 percentage point lead over Romney, an advantage that is within the poll's margin of error of plus or minus 3.5 percentage points.

The state may also see a visit from Romney or his running mate Paul Ryan, the Associated Press reported. 

The sudden attention comes as both campaigns have started buying advertising time in Minnesota, which had been lacking until last week. 

Although Minnesota has given its 10 electoral college votes to the Democratic candidate for president since 1972, those victories were narrow in 2000 and 2004. 

 

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