Hot Dish 6.11.24

By Sydney Kashiwagi

Good morning and welcome back to DC Dish! Minnesota’s ballots for the Aug. 13 primaries are all set after candidates made their final filings last week.

Some of those congressional candidates are familiar names we’ve been talking about for a while. Democratic Rep. Ilhan Omar and Don Samuels are facing off again in the DFL primary in the Fifth Congressional District. Republicans Tayler Rahm and Joe Teirab are vying to take on Democratic Rep. Angie Craig in the Second District. Seventh District GOP Rep. Michelle Fischbach is facing a primary challenge from Steve Boyd. DFL State Sen. Kelly Morrison is officially running for outgoing Democratic Rep. Dean Phillips’ Third District seat (and she was interviewed on NPR this morning). And at the top of the ticket, eight Republicans are vying to take on Democratic Sen. Amy Klobuchar, but the most notable challengers are endorsed candidate Royce White and Joe Fraser.

There are many other lesser-known challengers whose names will appear on the ballot, too.

Majority Whip and Sixth District GOP Rep. Tom Emmer drew just one little-known primary opponent, Big Lake resident Chris Corey. In the Democratic field, there are registered nurse anesthetist Jeanne Hendricks and small business owner Austin D. Winkelman.

Republican Harry Welty from Duluth is challenging Eighth District GOP Rep. Pete Stauber. On the Democratic side, there are former state legislator Jen Schultz and Warba resident John Munter.

Licensed family therapist Shawn Tweten and Rochester resident Gregory A. Goetzman are challenging GOP Rep. Brad Finstad in the First District Republican primary. Lawyer and former Hennepin County elections chief Rachel Bohman is running unchallenged in the DFL primary.

The race for Phillips’ open seat is essentially set between Morrison and former state legislator and Minnesota District Court Judge Tad Jude, who is running unchallenged in the Republican field.

Dalia al-Aqidi is the only Republican running for Omar’s seat. Woodbury resident Marc Ives is challenging Craig in the Democratic primary. Democrat AJ (John) Peters of Browerville is the only Democrat running for Fischbach’s seat. Klobuchar is facing four other lesser-known challengers in the primary.

TRUMP: A majority of Minnesota voters believe former President Donald Trump’s New York trial, which led to a conviction for falsifying business records to conceal a hush money payment, was a fair proceeding and that a person convicted of a felony should not be eligible for the presidency, my colleague Briana Bierschbach has the latest this morning.

However, voters’ views of the trial are sharply split along partisan lines, mirroring a deep national political divide over the conviction five months ahead of the November election.

The Star Tribune/MPR News/KARE 11 Minnesota Poll found 54% of voters thought the five-week trial was impartial while 44% said Trump did not receive a fair trial. Asked if someone convicted of a felony should be eligible for the presidency, 55% of respondents said no. Thirty-seven percent of respondents said a convicted felon should still be eligible to be president, while 8% were not sure. The poll’s findings are based on interviews with 800 likely Minnesota voters conducted June 3-5. The poll’s margin of error is plus or minus 3.5 percentage points.

This week, the Senate is set to vote on the Right to IVF Act on Thursday. The bill would ensure the right to in-vitro fertilization is protected at the federal level. Klobuchar is a co-sponsor of the bill and Sen. Tina Smith plans to give a floor speech in support of the legislation later this week.

“The Dobbs decision left women and doctors at the mercy of a patchwork of laws across the country,” Klobuchar said in a statement. “We must protect women’s reproductive freedom, including the right to decide if and when to start a family. IVF is a miracle for millions of families, and no politician or court should interfere with that.”

FARM BILL WATCH: GOP Sen. John Boozman is expected to release his framework on the Farm Bill sometime this week.

NEW BILLS TO WATCH: Omar and California Rep. Lou Correa (D) introduced the Child Status Fairness and Modernization Act last week. It would modify a section of the Immigration and Nationality Act to allow immigrants to continue to hold their “minor” status in the event their parent becomes a U.S. citizen after they turn 21. Currently, if an immigrant parent becomes a U.S. citizen, their child is classified as an adult if they turn 21 over the course of the lengthy visa process. Being classified as an adult means they could have to wait another 5 years or more for a visa.

Stauber introduced the Modifying Allocations to Improve Local Service (MAIL) Act last week that would force USPS to redistribute $3 billion in federal funding it was awarded to acquire a new fleet of electric vehicles, and instead put that money toward hiring and retaining rural postal workers.

BALL GAME: Finstad will play in the annual Congressional Baseball Game on Wednesday. He’s the only member of the delegation set to play. Craig plans to play in the Congressional Women’s Softball Team at the end of the month.

ENVIRONMENTAL WATCH: A coalition of 16 environmental groups is urging lawmakers to hold hearings on the state’s environmental protections, and make state agency leaders in Gov. Tim Walz’s administration answer for several recent instances they allege the state failed to protect the environment, my colleagues Chloe Johnson and Greg Stanley report.

Walz would have to call a special session for lawmakers to take action, but says he won’t do that this summer. The coalition is asking lawmakers to hold informational hearings that would not require the governor’s approval.

“Multiple organizations and individuals have tried to get the Walz administration’s attention on this. But they refuse to acknowledge the problem or propose meaningful solutions. It’s time for the Legislature to exercise their oversight authority and hold hearings,” Margaret Levin, state director of Sierra Club North Star Chapter, said in a news release.

WHERE’S WALZ:

READING LIST

Keep us posted at hotdish@startribune.com.