View this email as a web page

By Briana Bierschbach

Aaron Lavinsky/The Minnesota Star Tribune

Good morning and happy Tuesday. It’s special election primary day in northern Minnesota. Polls opened at 7 this morning in the race to replace former Republican Sen. Justin Eichorn, who resigned last month after his arrest in an underage prostitution sting. 

There’s only one DFLer in the race: Denise Slipy, an environmental health professional and first responder from Breezy Point, who will move on automatically to the April 29 special election.

But there’s a crowded field on the GOP side, including former Minnesota GOP Party Chair and Nisswa Mayor Jennifer Carnahan (pictured above); Keri Heintzeman, the former district director for President Donald Trump’s 2024 campaign; and Josh Gazelka, the son of former Senate Leader Paul Gazelka. Former Breezy Point Mayor Angel Zierden, army veteran Steve Cotariu, businessman John Howe, conservative activist Doug Kern and former House candidate Matthew Zinda are also running in the special primary race.

Senate District 6, which covers portions of Crow Wing, Cass and Itasca counties, is a solidly conservative district. Eichorn defeated his DFL challenger in 2022 by 27 percentage points. While Democrats have been performing better (and even flipping) some tough districts around the country, the party is not likely to invest a ton of resources into winning this seat. That could change depending on who wins the GOP primary tonight. 

Polls close at 8 p.m. and Allison Kite will be following the results. Check the Minnesota Star Tribune’s website later this afternoon for comments from voters and tonight for the results of the race. Read more. 

Democrat Rep. Angie Craig didn’t hold back regarding the Trump administration’s second term during her town hall meeting at Lakeville South High School on Monday night, and the crowd of several hundred people attending didn’t either. My colleague, Janet Moore, attended the hourlong event.

Craig, holding her 72nd town hall meeting since she was elected to represent Minnesota’s Second District nearly six years ago, said more than 600 people attended. Craig railed against Trump’s tariffs, particularly their effect on farmers, widespread federal job cuts led by Department of Government Efficiency chief Elon Musk, and potential cuts to Medicare, Medicaid and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). She's leading a bill that would bar such cuts through budget reconciliation, but no Republicans so far are interested in supporting it. Regarding feared Social Security cuts: “It’s our money, you can’t take it. We’re in for the fight of our lives, folks.”

When Craig asked the audience how many were first-timers, dozens of hands shot up. “Now is the time we can take back our power,” she said. “It’s not an easy task, but you’ve taken the first step: You showed up.” The crowd whooped and clapped.
Craig was joined onstage by seven DFL state lawmakers, most of whom represent portions of the south metro. Late last week, event organizers morphed Craig’s scheduled town hall with a separate DFL event to create a kind of anti-Trump Q&A and pep rally. Questions were submitted in advance, and most were answered by Craig, with some backup from state legislators.

House Floor Leader Jamie Long, DFL-Minneapolis, said afterward the merging of the two shouldn’t be misconstrued as a “political event” supporting Craig’s possible run for Sen. Tina Smith’s seat. Both state and federal lawmakers are collectively dealing with the fallout from the Trump administration in Washington, D.C., he said.
Craig has said that she will hold town halls in four districts in Minnesota represented by Republicans who refuse to hold such events. And an announcement on the Senate bid and her future plans will come very soon, she added.

Craig was interrupted at the end of the event by someone shouting “Stop the genocide” in Gaza. She seemed unfazed, noting “as Democrats we respect free speech.” 

Tired of paying $5 for water at events? A bill moving through the Legislature would require concert venues, stadiums and any “place of entertainment” holding an event for more than 100 people to provide attendees with free access to potable water, Christopher Magan reports. Venues could hand out water, allow patrons to bring in sealed containers or let them have empty bottles to fill at water fountains or stations.

Rep. Leigh Finke, DFL-St. Paul, says it’s “without a doubt the most popular bill I have ever introduced.”

Joel Carlson, a lobbyist for concert promoter Live Nation and the Minnesota United Football Club, which plays at Allianz Field in St. Paul, says most venues have water fountains or stations. But venue operators don’t want attendees bringing in large metal or glass containers that could be used as projectiles (think a 40-ounce Yeti, he said). Read more. 

Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz will speak at the People of Color Career Fair this morning, followed by a roundtable discussion on proposed Medicaid cuts. 

Do you enjoy Hot Dish? Encourage your friends and family to sign up. You also can share it using the links below.

The House and Senate DFL town hall tour is in northeastern Minnseota today. Members will be in Duluth tonight and senators are up in Ely this afternoon. 

Department of Corrections: In yesterday's Hot Dish we wrote that DFL legislators and Craig were holding seperate town halls, but the two merged their event late last week. Apologies if we led anyone astray!