Good morning and happy Tuesday. Melisa López Franzen is the new leader of the Minnesota Senate DFL caucus. Her colleagues elected the Edina attorney last night in a closed door meeting. She will talk to reporters later today and will no doubt be asked about the lack of a deal on bonuses for workers on the front lines during the pandemic and where plans stand for a special legislative session.
As the candidates for the Republican nomination for governor make the rounds there’s another name that keeps coming up. MPR’s Brian Bakst looked into the launch today of a well-financed push to lure businessman Kendall Qualls into the race, and here’s what he sent me: The draft committee went live Tuesday with a web site and a campaign-style video calling Qualls “a new kind of candidate, one who the radical left fears.” The GOP is trying to settle on a nominee to challenge DFL Gov. Tim Walz, who is gearing up to run for re-election. Draft committees are sometimes disguised trial balloons by would-be candidates. But Committee Chair Kent Kaiser said he hasn’t personally met or spoken to Qualls about running. “If you look at the past track record in Minnesota, you’ll see that many outsiders have come to prominence in politics,” Kaiser said. “Voters seem to like an outsider rather than a career politician.” Qualls lost by 11 percentage points to Democratic Rep. Dean Phillips in the suburban 3rd Congressional District in 2020. Reached briefly on Monday, Qualls said the “good-natured talk” about him running hasn’t involved him. “It’s not serious consideration,” Qualls said of his 2022 plans. “I haven’t even gotten to the point where I even know if there is a door to close because I’m not trying to frame one.” But lately, he’s been touring Minnesota to speak at multiple events per week -- often before Republican groups -- about the way race and diversity factor into the school curriculum. Qualls, of Medina, has traveled the state on behalf of the group Take Charge Minnesota, where he is the president. The Take Charge board members include Ron Eibensteiner, who leads the Center of the American Experiment, is a former Minnesota Republican Party chair and is a venture capitalist with a vast political fundraising network. Neither the candidates nor this committee will have to give their first detailed glimpse at the money they’re raising and spending until early 2022. Precinct caucuses, where the party endorsement process officially begins, are set for Feb. 1.
Meanwhile Gov. Tim Walz is scheduled to announce what he calls the Governor’s Council on Economic Expansion later today.
A judge on Monday put on hold a tougher standard on the use of deadly force by police officers until a lawsuit is resolved over the way a new law is constructed. Ramsey County District Court Judge Leonardo Castro suspended the law passed in 2020 that requires officers to provide specific reasons to justify using lethal force. Here’s Brian’s story on that.
DFL Rep. John Thompson hasn’t yet paid a fine he owes for driving with a suspended license. Several top Democrats, including Gov. Tim Walz and House Speaker Melissa Hortman have called on him to resign. The Star Tribune reports that now the court wants to suspend his new license.
Democrats in the United States Senate have a deal on a voting bill. Minnesota Democrat Amy Klobuchar told NPR this morning that the bill would make Election Day a public holiday, ensure every state offers same-day voter registration, set minimum federal standards on mail voting and ban partisan gerrymandering, among other things. Now comes the hard part: Convincing at least 10 Senate Republicans to vote for it or trying to change the filibuster to allow a vote on the legislation.
Finally, this story is behind a paywall, but the tweet is free: Bill Scher on Twitter: ""[Al] Franken told The [Springfield] Republican he has a political action committee and not ruled out a return to public office ... 'I'm keeping my options open,' Franken said." Report from @GeoLenk: https://t.co/nQxmDuQtbH "
| 
