Good morning. Excuse us while we bottle up this weather to carry us through winter.

The political ads are back, with campaigns and groups ramping up their presence on Minnesota television as we hit the post-Labor Day phase.  Democratic U.S. Rep. Angie Craig (2nd District) has “what I’ve done” ads in full rotation. Vice President Kamala Harris is going up with positive spots, too. The station booking sheets are getting fuller and before long, the political commercials will edge out other product peddlers. Campaigns and groups that book early tend to get better prices and better time slots. Viewers are more likely to encounter them around the morning and evening news. But also keep an eye out during favorite game shows, soap operas and prime-time dramas. The most expensive purchases we’ve seen so far? Football adjacent. The pro-Harris Democratic group Future Forward PAC is forking out $100,000 for a single 30-second ad to run on WCCO during the Minnesota Vikings-Indianapolis Colts game two days ahead of the election. Candidates get cheaper rates, so Craig is due to pay $11,500 for a half-minute during the same game (she booked the time way back in March).

The campaign sprint is on. Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump will devote almost all of their remaining time and resources to just seven states : Arizona, Georgia, Nevada, North Carolina, Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin. Before President Joe Biden dropped out of the race, Trump allies suggested that Minnesota might be in play. But after Harris breathed new life into the Democratic campaign, neither party appears to be treating Minnesota as a top-tier target coming out of Labor Day Weekend. Harris’ team is on track to outspend Trump’s campaign 2-to-1 in television advertising nationally over the next two months. 

The Tim Walz tracker is focused on Pennsylvania for the next couple of days. Walz, the Minnesota governor and vice presidential candidate, is due to hit multiple events in a few cities in the Keystone State on Wednesday and Thursday. It’s his first solo trip to the state, which could be the linchpin in November. 

A court petition to bump a candidate from the presidential ballot in Minnesota — not that one — has been dismissed.  In an order Friday, the Minnesota Supreme Court dismissed a challenge to independent Shiva Ayyadurai. That candidacy had been challenged over eligibility to serve over the constitutional clause that presidents be natural-born citizens. The person behind the challenge — technically filed against the Secretary of State for certifying the candidate — failed to adequately notify Ayyadurai and other parties. Chief Justice Natalie Hudson wrote in the order that the time to do so had passed. “Given the Secretary of State’s representation that a decision by this court is needed by Sept. 4, 2024, in order not to prejudice election officials and voters, we cannot give petitioner additional time to personally serve Ayyadurai and the other presidential candidates,” she wrote. With that, it’s become clear that nine presidential candidates will be on the Minnesota ballot. A reminder that almost 9 percent of Minnesota voters opted for a third-party or write-in vote in the 2016 presidential race, which helped Trump get close to winning the state. That percentage plummeted to 2 percent in Joe Biden’s comfortable 2020 victory in Minnesota. 

A liberal and a conservative became friends, despite being “wrong about everything.” Catharine Richert spoke to Javier Morillo, a former labor organizer and progressive strategist, and Amy Koch, a Republican and former majority leader in the Minnesota Senate, about their decade-long friendship that blossomed despite their political differences and survived through some of the most polarizing years in American history. Today, the “Wrong About Everything” podcast hosts channel what could be political combat into an irreverent politics show where they pick apart some of the hardest subjects that divide the country. Read the full Talking Sense story here. 

While Minnesota’s lieutenant governor could be on the way up, Iowa’s is on the way out. Iowa Lt. Gov Adam Gregg is stepping down from his post to “pursue a career opportunity that allows him to focus more on family,” according to a statement released by Gov. Kim Reynold’s office. The Iowa Bankers Association announced Gregg will be its new president and CEO beginning Oct. 1. His resignation takes effect immediately. Reynolds is expected to appoint someone to fill his position this fall. In the meantime, Iowa Senate President Amy Sinclar will fill the vacant spot. If Democrats keep the White House in November, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz will give up his post and Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan would move up the ladder. What happens from there would be subject to several factors, as we’ve reported here.