Capitol View for August 13

Good morning. Here's your chance to vote, although most probably won’t.

It’s primary day. Polls open at 7 a.m. this morning and close at 8 p.m. tonight. All U.S. and Minnesota House seats are on the ballot, as well as a contentious Republican primary between Royce White and Joe Fraser that will determine who faces off against U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar (who has a nominal primary of her own) in November. There is also a Democratic primary in the west metro that sets up a special election for control of the Minnesota Senate. We’ll have special coverage on MPR starting after 7 p.m. and will continue to bring you live updates as the polls close. Unsure what’s on your ballot or not sure where your district’s candidates stand on certain issues? Check out MPR News’ Voter Guides that are available in multiple languages.

Turnout in the August primary is typically far below the strong numbers Minnesota puts up in November. It has been 30 years since more than a quarter of eligible voters showed up for the primary, which used to be held in September. And 11 of the past 14 primaries haven’t cracked 20 percent. As of Monday, just more than 104,000 absentee and mail ballots had been marked accepted. Hennepin County voters accounted for more than 1 in 4 of those.

Local organizations are working to ensure voters in Latino, Somali, African diaspora and Hmong communities have the information and support they need to register to vote in the primaries. Sarah Thamer spoke with the organizers making sure that Minnesota’s immigrant community has the resources and information needed to vote. Nonprofits like Copal and Ayada Leads have been organizing bilingual phone banking, door canvassing programs and cultural events.

In the presidential race, Gov. Tim Walz hits the road again this week, traveling solo for the first time as the Democratic vice presidential nominee. Walz will make stops at fundraisers in California, Colorado, Massachusetts, Rhode Island and New York this week. His focus on fundraising comes after he stormed through a series of battleground states with Vice President Kamala Harris last week to introduce himself to voters on a national scale.

Who’s weird? Sen. JD Vance says Walz is the weird one! During last week’s visit to Eau Claire, Wis., and in an interview with CNN’s Dana Bash on Sunday , Vance zeroed in on a moment during last week’s Harris-Walz Philadelphia rally. It was where Walz greeted his wife, Gwen Walz, on stage by shaking her hand. Vance contrasted that moment with how he had hugged and kissed his own wife after his first speech as the Republican vice presidential nominee. “I think what it is,is two people, Kamala Harris and Tim Walz, who aren’t comfortable in their own skin, because they’re uncomfortable with their policy positions for the American people,” Vance said. “And so they’re name-calling instead of actually telling the American people how they’re going to make their lives better. I think that’s weird, Dana, but look, they can call me whatever they want to.” The weird taunt was added to the national lexicon weeks ago by Walz, who used it to describe the Republican ticket in a moment that earned him substantial national notice.

A former deputy chair of the Minnesota GOP is endorsing the Harris-Walz ticket. In a Star Tribune op-ed, Michael Brodkorb wrote that he will be voting for Harris and Walz in November’s election. Brodkorb served as the deputy chair of the Minnesota GOP from 2009 to 2011, when he stepped down to work for the congressional campaign of state senator Mike Parry. Brodkorb wrote that he voted for the Republican presidential candidate from 1992 until 2012, but did not vote for former President Donald Trump in the 2016 or 2020 elections. For Brodkorb, his decision, “is about standing up for the principles the party once represented — principles that I believe will be at risk if Trump returns to the White House.” Read the full op-ed here.

A DFL candidate for the Minnesota House disavowed by the state party has been charged in an alleged sign-stealing case in Alexandria. Judd Hoff and his wife Wendy were booked into Douglas County Jail last weekend after police found hundreds of stolen signs on their property. More than 240 yard signs have gone missing in Alexandria over the past few weeks. Police say the majority of these were found in the backyard and garage of the Hoffs’ home. According to charging documents, many signs were covered in black paint and repainted with the phrase, “Vote Hoff, State Representative 12B.” Police estimate that total damages are nearing $5,000. If the name sounds familiar, a local DFL party unit endorsed Hoff in the race in April, resulting in outcry from Republicans and the state DFL party. That’s because in August 2020, Hoff assaulted a person with a machete after a confrontation. The local county DFL unit has now rescinded its endorsement.