Good morning, it's Thursday, and there's still no word from Sen. Elizabeth Warren's campaign about her plans. Here's the Digest.
1. How Amy Klobuchar decided to exit the 2020 presidential race. Her last campaign speech was in Salt Lake City on Monday morning. The national press traveling with her noticed something was off. Afterward, she didn't pause for her usual photo line. Soon after, she held a conference call and told her staff how proud she was of what they'd accomplished together. Hours later, she was in Dallas with fromer Vice President Joe Biden. “I cannot think of a better way to end my campaign than joining his,” she told the crowd. Star Tribune 2. Early votes for non-candidates causing some to call for changes to Minnesota's primary. If you voted for Cory Booker, Julian Castro or Andrew Yang, you had plenty of time to change your early ballot in Minnesota's presidential primary. But those who cast ballots for Amy Klobuchar, Pete Buttigieg and Tom Steyer were out of luck. Some wonder if the state should instead adopt ranked-choice voting. But others say early voting is really designed to help people who can't make it to the polls on Election Day and that people should wait, if they can. In all, Minnesotans cast more than 52,000 Democratic votes for candidates who had exited the race. MPR News 3. Analysis: How Biden beat Sanders in Minnesota. Biden got his boost in Minnesota from voters who decided at the last minute which candidate to choose. And when Amy Klobuchar dropped out of the race on Monday and endorsed Biden, many voters followed her lead. Bernie Sanders had been second to Klobuchar in polls of Minnesota voters, but Tuesday's results showed he did better than Biden in just four counties -- not including Ramsey or Hennepin. And in case you're wondering how much money played a role? Of the money Minnesotans donated Democratic candidates, nearly half went to Klobuchar, while less than 3 percent went to Biden's campaign. Pioneer Press 4. Further analysis: Suburbs, conservative, affluent areas went for Biden. "The former vice president performed best among the Democratic candidates in Minnesota counties where Trump did well in 2016. He also did better in counties with more older residents and those with higher median incomes, a Star Tribune analysis of vote totals and U.S. Census data shows. In the state’s five most affluent counties, on average nearly 46% of people picked Biden while about 26% chose Sanders. Biden also did well in wealthy neighborhoods in southwest Minneapolis and Highland Park in St. Paul. Biden’s success in states like Minnesota and Massachusetts shocked a lot of people, University of Minnesota political science professor Paul Goren said. 'He’s got momentum on his side, and I think that bodes well moving forward,' he said. But he added a warning: 'It’s possible a gaffe or a misstatement on his part could harm his candidacy down the line."' Star Tribune 5. Redacted mining report angers opponents. "Of the 61-page environmental assessment examining the impacts of copper-nickel mining on the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness, all but the cover page is blacked out — redacted due to 'Deliberative Process Privilege.' That's angered environmentalists who say it's just one more way the Trump administration is blocking information on issue, Save the Boundary Waters said in email Wednesday morning after a Star Tribune editorial shared and mocked the heavily redacted document. 'The Trump Administration has moved heaven and earth to keep the contents of this report out of the public’s view,' Save the Boundary Waters said in the emailed statement." Duluth News Tribune | 