8/12/2024 -- Primary Election Preview

Politics

Minnesota’s Primary Election is On Tuesday. Here’s What You Need To Know.

The Summary: On August 13, Minnesotans will participate in the 2024 primary election to determine which candidates will advance to the general election in November. This election will include significant races, including the closely watched 5th Congressional District primary featuring Rep. Ilhan Omar.

Voter Registration: Check your voter registration status at the Minnesota Secretary of State website. If you need to register, you can do so at your polling place on Election Day.

Polling Locations and Hours: Polling places will be open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. on August 13. Find your polling location here.

Key Races to Watch

- 5th Congressional District: Rep. Ilhan Omar is facing a primary challenge from Don Samuels. Omar has significantly outpaced Samuels in fundraising, raising about $6.2 million compared to Samuels' $1.4 million.

- 2nd Congressional District: Democratic Rep. Angie Craig is expected to advance to the general election in what is considered Minnesota's most competitive House seat. On the Republican side, Joe Teirab, endorsed by former President Trump, faces nominal opposition after his opponent, Tayler Rahm, dropped out of the race.

- 7th Congressional District: Republican Rep. Michelle Fischbach is defending her seat against Steve Boyd. Fischbach has a significant financial advantage and the endorsement of former President Trump.

- U.S. Senate Race: Democratic incumbent Amy Klobuchar is expected to secure her party's nomination. In the Republican primary, Royce White, a former NBA player and ally of conspiracy theorist Alex Jones, has emerged as the top fundraiser, though no significant Republican groups have supported the race financially.

-Minnesota 61A: The local house race is being hotly contested on the Democratic side with three candidates looking to secure their party nomination.

Presidential Race 2024

Minnesota Governor Tim Walz Hits Campaign Trail, Faces Criticism From GOP

The Summary: Just one week after being announced as Kamala Harris’ running mate, Tim Walz has made multiple campaign stops across the country. He is also facing pointed attacks from the Trump campaign and Republican party.

2020 Riots: The Trump campaign has been quick to focus on Walz’ handling of the unrest that occurred following the murder of George Floyd going so far as to say Walz “let rioters burn down Minneapolis.” To provide context to this claim, the Star Tribune has outlined a timeline of how Walz reacted to the riots. Despite the new criticism, Trump told Walz in 2020 he was 'very happy' with his handling of George Floyd protest according to a phone call recording.

Military Record: Walz’ military record has also been a point of criticism with the Trump campaign claiming he abandoned his unit before they were deployed to Iraq. However, multiple sources show that Walz retired from the Minnesota National Guard in May 2005 and had submitted retirement paperwork five to seven months beforehand — well prior to the unit being notified of their deployment.

No, You’re Weird: The Trump/Vance campaign is also looking to turn the tables on Walz who originally coined the “weird” attack when describing JD Vance.

What Else We’re Reading…

Which Minnesota Companies Had The Largest Pay Disparities?

New reporting from the Minnesota Reformer details which Minnesota based companies have the largest pay disparities between their highest paid employee (typically the CEO) and the average employee. Highlights include:

❯ At C.H. Robinson, the CEO David Bozeman took home $27.9 million, 572 times the $60,720 paid to the typical worker.

❯ At UnitedHealth Group, CEO Andrew Witty took home $23.5 million, 352 times the $66,821 paid to the typical worker.

-❯ At 3M, CEO Michael Roman took home $16.4 million, 266 times the $61,664 paid to the typical worker.

Read the full report here.

Sports

Minnesotans at the Olympics 🥇

Minnesota was well represented on the medal stand at the 2024 Paris Olympics. At the conclusion of the games, the following Minnesota athletes were recepients of gold, silver, or bronze medals:

🏀 Anthony Edwards (Timberwolves), Men’s Basketball — gold medal

🏊‍♀️ Regan Smith (Lakeville), swimming — five medals

🤸‍♀️ Suni Lee (St. Paul), gymnastics — two medals

🥽 Sarah Bacon (Gophers), diving — silver medal

🏀 Napheesa Collier (Lynx), Women’s Basketball — gold medal

🏐 Jordan Thompson (Edina), Volleyaball — silver medal

Other Sports

⚾ The Minnesota Twins split a four game series with the Cleveland Guaridans to remain 3.5 games back of first place in the AL Central.

🏈 The Minnesota Vikings won their preseason game against the Oakland Raiders. Rookie QB JJ McCarthy finished 11/17 with 2 touchdowns and 1 interception.

Quick hits

Headlines From Around The Twin Cities ✔

❯ Minnesota’s oldest black newspaper, The Minnesota Spokesman Recorder, celebrated its 90th birthday (Axios)

❯ St. Paul broke ground on multi-sport turf field in Victoria Park (KSTP)

❯ Minnesota has banned smoking marijuana in apartments (Fox9)

❯ Ramsey County is now reviewing its policy that bills people who call their mental health crisis line (Fox9)

❯ The Minnesota Lottery says someone has yet to claim their $1 million prize for winning the Minnesota Millionaire Raffle earlier this year (WCCO)

The Final Word: Meteor Shower Alert

Be sure to step outside tonight and you’ll likely see some meteors shooting across the sky. The Perseid Meteor “show” has already been taking place but last night and tonight are the peaks of the show — NASA says you can see 100 meteors per hour.

-Patrick