Outside Prosecutor Investigating Stoney’s Contract Removing Monuments

Augusta County Prosecutor Timothy Martin will investigate a contract used by Richmond Mayor Levar Stoney earlier this summer to remove parts of eight of Richmond’s Confederate monuments.

In August, Richmond City Councilmember and candidate for Stoney’s seat Kim Gray called for investigation into the contract. The contract paid $1.8 million to NAH LLC, which has ties to Devon Henry who, in 2016, donated $4,000 to Stoney’s campaign for mayor.

Read the full story

GOP Slams Klobuchar for Backtracking on Promise to Complete Senate Term

The Minnesota Republican Party called out Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) Tuesday after she indicated that she is leaning towards launching a presidential campaign. But during her 2018 Senate reelection campaign, Klobuchar promised to finish her full six-year term if reelected. “Of course I will. I think my track record shows that. I love working in the Senate. I love representing Minnesota,” she said during a debate with opponent Jim Newberger. Klobuchar has repeatedly indicated that she’s considering a run for the White House, and during a Tuesday interview on MSNBC’s Morning Joe all but announced that she’s running. “I also said I wanted to talk to my family, so big news today—my family is on board, including my in-laws, showing some momentum. But I will make this decision on my own course, regardless of what other candidates are doing,” she said. “I think what America wants is someone that is going to make their own decisions, that’s not going to be influenced by every tweet out from the White House or what happens every single day in the news. I think they need a president that’s there for them in the long haul,” she added. The Minnesota GOP responded in…

Read the full story

In Minnesota Senate Debate GOP Challenger Blasts Klobuchar for Opposing SCOTUS Nominee Brett Kavanaugh

Sen. Amy Klobuchar squared off against her Republican challenger State Rep. Jim Newberger at the Minnesota State Fair Friday, sparring over issues of immigration and President Trump’s nomination of Brett Kavanaugh to serve on the United States Supreme Court. Immediately out of the gate, Klobuchar boasted a record of being the lead sponsor on 18 different bills signed into law by President Trump. “You need someone that can find common ground but is also willing to be a check and balance on this administration,” she said, representing a state that is growing increasingly purple as 78 out of its 87 counties went to Trump during the 2016 Election. Newberger, who worked as a paramedic for 30 years before seeking office, argued that it is time for a fresh face in Washington, suggesting that Klobuchar is a prime example of why Congress needs “term limits.” “Eighteen years folks is a long time to be in the swamp,” he said, claiming earlier in the debate that he will be a voice for the “moderate-middle to the conservative right.” “You have not had a voice for almost a decade. Folks, it’s time that you had a voice. It’s time you had a senator…

Read the full story

Minnesota Politicians Invade State Fair, But Voters Want to Leave Politics At Home

Tom Walz, Jeff Johnson

Each year, the Minnesota State Fair looks more and more like a political convention, but this year fair-goers seem to have had enough of the politicization of the Great Minnesota Get-Together. Both major parties, the Democratic-Farmer-Labor (DFL) Party and the state GOP, have booths at the fair with their respective candidates for elected office campaigning all day long throughout the fairgrounds. DFL candidate for governor Rep. Tim Walz and his running mate Peggy Flanagan chronicled their adventures at the fair on Twitter, posting of video of Walz delivering “Sweet Martha’s Cookies” to the GOP booth. “Minnesotans can show this nation that our politics doesn’t need to be narrow and divisive. It can be inclusive, it can be hopeful, it can be visionary, and it can be about one Minnesota gathering together,” Walz said to a crowd of fair-goers. Kicking off the Minnesota State Fair with a visit to the @MinnesotaDFL booth! Together, we can make our vision for #OneMinnesota a reality. pic.twitter.com/Tg52inyLEG — Tim Walz (@Tim_Walz) August 23, 2018 Walz’s opponent, Republican Jeff Johnson, is also making his presence known at the annual gathering, which broke its opening day attendance record Thursday with 122,695 Minnesotans in attendance. “Excited to be…

Read the full story

Republican Jeff Johnson Closing In On Tim Walz In Minnesota Governor’s Race

Jeff Johnson, Tim Walz

The latest poll out of Suffolk University shows that Republican gubernatorial candidate Jeff Johnson (pictured, left) trails his opponent Rep. Tim Walz (pictured, right) by only five points in the race for Minnesota’ governorship. The poll, conducted between August 17 and August 20, surveyed 500 Minnesotans on their opinions of candidates running in the upcoming gubernatorial and senatorial races, all of which are guaranteed to be high-stakes races for the typically blue state. Recurring physical and mental health issues have sidelined Gov. Mark Dayton, who will not seek reelection, leaving the Democratic-Farmer-Labor (DFL) Party endorsement open for Rep. Tim Walz, who is leading Johnson by a small margin of five points, according to Suffolk. In the governor’s race, Minnesota voters ranked healthcare as the most important issue facing the state, with gun control measures placing near the bottom at just 4.8 percent. The economy and taxes both tied for second at 16 percent. Among those polled, 47 percent answered that they are “extremely interested” in the race,” while another 32 percent responded that they are “very interested.” 90 percent of respondents said they will “almost certainly” vote in the upcoming midterm elections. Looking at the two Senate races in Minnesota,…

Read the full story