Hot dish 09/05/24

By Briana Bierschbach

Part of the reason Vice President Kamala Harris chose Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz as her running mate was his upbringing in rural Nebraska and time spent representing a sprawling southern Minnesota congressional district dotted with farms.

The campaign has been highlighting his rural credentials ever since he joined the ticket, and on Wednesday they dropped him into western and central Pennsylvania for his first solo trip, where he visited an orchard, a dairy farm and a group of Democrats trying to get out the vote in rural areas for the Harris-Walz ticket.

Star Tribune politics and government reporter Rochelle Olson and photographer Glen Stubbe were along for the ride and, of course, delivered with photos and colorful live updates from the campaign trail. We learned a lot about Whoopie Pies, how milk is processed on the farm (surprise local connection) and the governor’s love of vanilla milkshakes (does he get a shake at every campaign stop?). Walz bottle-fed a Guernsey calf and thankfully there were no accidents in the motorcade this time.

The state has 19 electoral votes that both parties consider crucial to capturing the 270 electoral votes needed to win in November. Former President Donald Trump and his running mate, Ohio Sen. JD Vance, also are spending lots of time in Pennsylvania.

Olson writes that the governor’s stops were well-orchestrated and kept the media at arm’s length but close enough to capture photos and hear chitchat. He did not take media questions even though one reporter called out to him at the Lancaster campaign office, asking what the Harris-Walz administration would do about “lowering prices.” The governor didn’t respond, and an aide admonished reporters not to interfere with the event.

WHO’S RUNNING MINNESOTA: More today from Ryan Faircloth on how the state is being run while Walz is out campaigning in battleground states. Walz’s daily schedule published by the governor’s office has said “Governor Tim Walz has no public events scheduled” almost every day (but two) since he was announced as Harris’ running mate (see today’s “where’s Walz” section of this newsletter).

In Walz’s absence, Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan has taken on more public-facing roles, such as ribbon cuttings and greeting students on the first day back to school this week. Minnesota House Minority Leader Lisa Demuth, R-Cold Spring, said in a recent interview that she and her fellow Republicans “will absolutely be watching how much [Walz] has been in the state and is doing his responsibilities as governor.”

FEEDING OUR FUTURE: Republicans on the U.S. House Committee on Education and the Workforce issued subpoenas Wednesday to Walz’s office and the state education department, as part of their investigation into oversight of pandemic funds in the wake of the Feeding our Future fraud.

Josie Albertson-Grove writes that the House committee is the latest to investigate the scandal, which involved a contractor using rosters of made-up children’s names to collect millions of dollars in U.S. Department of Agriculture funding meant for meals for kids.

In a statement, Lancaster said the state “worked diligently to stop the fraud and we’re grateful to the FBI for working with the Department of Education to arrest and charge the individuals involved.” The state Department of Education has since been granted more investigative authority and its own inspector general.

The House committee started requesting information about oversight in the pandemic meal programs in September of 2022, shortly after the first criminal charges were unsealed. The subpoenas require documents to be produced by noon on Sept. 18.

Last week, Olson reported that Mitchell pleaded not guilty and lawyers have agreed she didn’t steal a laptop she had when she was arrested on a first-degree burglary charge, according to a pretrial pact signed by both prosecutors and defense lawyers. The prosecution can, however, use the laptop and evidence gathered from it, the agreement said.

Mitchell is charged with entering her late father’s home, where his widow lives, without permission with the intent to commit a crime.

NEW HIRE: The state Republican Party has hired state Rep. Walter Hudson as their new Strategic Outreach and Engagement Director. Hudson’s hire follows roughly two dozen other staff additions to the party’s operations, according to a release. Hudson’s role seems to be focused on get out the vote efforts.

“With President Trump’s race getting closer each day, Joe Teirab’s race in the Second District remaining one of the most competitive in the country, a handful of MN House seats to pick up a regain the majority, and one very competitive MN Senate race that will decide control of the Senate, we are committed to turning out every Republican vote,” he said in a statement.

WHERE’S WALZ: There are no public events on the governor’s schedule today. For the campaign, he’ll continue his swing through Pennsylvania. Olson and Stubbe will deliver more updates from the road.

Keep us posted at hotdish@startribune.com.