Primary day in the First District

By Hunter Woodall

Welcome to Tuesday. Primary day is here for voters in Minnesota's First Congressional District as contenders look to advance to the August special election to fill the rest of the late GOP Rep. Jim Hagedorn's term.

We have an early look at the race here that we will be updating as polls close tonight.

In statehouse news, my colleagues Jessie Van Berkel and Briana Bierschbach looked at the initial fallout of the end of legislative session writing that:

Minnesota legislators spent hours giving fond farewell speeches Monday as billions of dollars in tax and spending proposals remained in limbo — and the campaign trail blame game that will dominate the next five months was underway.

CAMPAIGNS: Emma Nelson also has a feed on Monday's rally held by Republican gubernatorial candidate Scott Jensen that included Jensen being endorsed by former GOP rival Kendall Qualls.

Jensen was joined by running mate Matt Birk and a slate of GOP-endorsed candidates including attorney general candidate Jim Schultz, secretary of state candidate Kim Crockett, state auditor candidate Ryan Wilson and congressional candidates Tyler Kistner, May Lor Xiong and Cicely Davis. Congressman Pete Stauber also spoke, and Jensen introduced Trace Johnson, who announced his candidacy for the state House seat long held by state Rep. Alice Hausman, DFL-Falcon Heights, who is retiring.

FIRST DISTRICT: Are you a voter casting a ballot in today's special primary election? Get in touch with me at hunter.woodall@startribune.com if you want to share your thoughts.

FILINGS: DFL Attorney General Keith Ellison filed for re-election on Monday. Others who filed on Monday include GOP Secretary of State candidate Kim Crockett and Jensen in the governor's race, according to the secretary of state's website.

WHERE'S WALZ: Gov. Tim Walz is scheduled to "attend the Minnesota State Patrol Trooper Academy graduation ceremony" at 11 a.m. and then at 4 p.m. "Walz will have a call with the White House COVID Response Coordinator Dr. Ashish Jha," according to the governor's public schedule.

In other Walz news, the governor has "appointed Nancy Daubenberger to serve as the Commissioner of the Minnesota Department of Transportation," according to a press release.

EVENTS WATCH: Democratic U.S. Rep. Ilhan Omar is set to have an "in-person Migration Town Hall," tonight starting at 7 p.m. at the Westwood Hills Nature Center, according to a press release.

There will also be a Fifth Congressional District candidate forum for students at Ascension Catholic School later today, per a press release.

WASHINGTON: A bipartisan letter signed by Minnesota's congressional delegation was made public Monday in which the lawmakers are "urging the U.S. Department of Agriculture to provide federal assistance for Minnesota farmers and communities impacted by storms and natural disasters this spring harvest," according to a press release.

READING LIST:

  • Emma Nelson reports that "U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar visited the American Swedish Institute on Monday to highlight Minnesota's ties to Sweden and Finland as they seek to become the newest members of NATO."
  • A big Minnesota hire is shaking up the NBA.
  • Jeremy Olson writes about vaccine boosters helping in Minnesota.
  • The Associated Press looks at Tuesday's other major primary races across the country.

Anything on your mind? Write to us at: hotdish@startribune.com.

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