The Minnesota Primaries are on August 11th, 2020! That is in 3 days! While it is too late to vote by mail, you still have time to vote early in person. Wash your hands, put your mask on, get out there, and VOTE!
My ballot arrived a couple weeks ago, and I mailed it back the same day. No postage necessary. It was very easy. The back of the envelope had a reminder to thoroughly read the instructions, the instructions were clear and easy to read, and all of the materials (save for the pen) were there. Plus, they included a notice stating that the primary ballot must be postmarked on or before Election Day (August 11, 2020) and received the day before the county canvass, which may take place on the second or third day following the election. This is certainly something that I am going to do again for the general election. And I was able to use the absentee ballot tracker to track my ballot. So easy!
Though this is an election year for the Minnesota State Legislature, a number of the candidates are running uncontested in the primary. For example, State Senate Districts 46, 48, and 60, and State Representative Districts 46A, 46B, 48A, 48B, 60A, and 60B are all uncontested races in the primaries - in fact, the candidate for 60B is running uncontested in the general election as well, so I can call that election. Congratulations on your victory, Representative Mohamud Noor.
Granted, Representative Noor isn’t the only candidate who is running unopposed this year - this is a common occurrence. With the spectacle and glamour of the federal government, people tend to forget that the state governments have a lot of power. But state legislatures do a huge amount of work while no one is looking; abortion, marijuana, public safety - all done at the state level. So make certain to vote - one vote can swing an election.Don’t leave us in the fuck barrel.
While collecting the websites for everyone running for Congress, I noticed something about the 7th Congressional District: two of the three candidates running under the DFL banner for US Representative happen to be extremely right-wing. Alycia R. Gruenhagen appears to be anti-mask, according to her Facebook posts, and states that she is “a freedom loving, patriotic, pro-life, Pro-2nd Amendment conservative democrat”. Stephen A. Emery says that he is “for pro-life, pro-traditional family, pro-private enterprise, responsible immigration representation” and believes that the “COVID-19 matter is 90 percent lies” - his words. Representative Colin C. Peterson, though - his website talks more about him as a person and doesn’t talk much about his voting record. However, there is his US House page, Ballotpedia, and Wikipedia. He voted “nay” on both articles of House Resolution 755 - Impeaching Donald John Trump, President of the United States, for high crimes and misdemeanors. He’s a founding member of the Blue Dog Coalition. He appears to be a centrist at best. That makes me terrified of what the Republicans in CD7 are like. Let’s see who the others are!
Dr. Noel Collis:
“Dr. Noel Collis is the only candidate who is professionally trained to understand the implications of the coronavirus pandemic. He understands the medical issues. He will stand-up against the career politicians in Washington who will use this crisis to increase government control. Dr. Noel Collis knows how to keep America safe and defend our constitutional rights and the liberties that made America great!” Ugh.
“The “Green New Deal” could outlaw cows and hamburgers.” That’s a lie.
Former Lieutenant Governor Michelle Fischbach:
“We must protect the unborn, who have the fundamental right to life, and defend the sanctity of innocent human life at all stages.” Oi.
“We must secure our borders and build the southern border wall.” Not surprised.
Major Dave Hughes:
“In 2018, I was proud to be endorsed by President Trump” - well, I don’t need to see anything further.
No website. Didn’t fill out Ballotpedia’s Connection Connection survey, either. Huh. I could take the time to dig deeper, but I’m super uncomfortable looking at the other CD7 candidates already, and so I’ll just pass.
“PRO-LIFE: I SUPPORT ALL LIFE, ESPECIALLY THE UNBORN”. Thanks for shouting, dude.
“PATH TO PROSPERITY: I SUPPORT THE SUCCESS OF AMERICA”. Uh… okay.
Slater Johnson: The Legal Marijuana Now website doesn’t actually give any positions that he specifically supports.
Grassroots - Legalize Cannabis:
Rae Hart Anderson: No website. Didn’t fill out Ballotpedia’s Connection Connection survey, either. But as long as we use First Past The Post as our election system, there isn’t much concern for 3rd parties (unfortunately).
Kevin "NeSe" Shores: Also no website. And neither of the candidates are on the Grassroots - Legalize Cannabis website, either.
Something else that I noticed while collecting websites is that all three candidates are running on a platform of “I hate Representative Ilhan Omar”. Dalia Al-Aqidi’s entire platform appears to be “we must stop Ilhan Omar” and doesn’t talk about anything else; Lacy Johnson talks about a number of other issues - while Omar is on his front page, she’s 4th on his list of issues; and Danielle Stella only has Omar as talking points in two of her platform issues, but not as a platform issue by herself (though Omar is also on the front page). Combined with all the money that conservative groups are putting in towards Antone Melton-Meaux, it looks like conservative groups are less interested in having someone win than they are in making sure that Omar loses.
Note: while writing this post, a friend of mine linked me to an article discussing the matter of Danielle Stella having a warrant out for her arrest; and that there is a blog called Danielle Stella Exposed. Apparently, she supports the Q-anon conspiracy group and even makes the extreme-conservatives uneasy.
So if you haven’t voted already, get out there and vote! It’s not too late! And remember, the United States Congress isn’t the only body to have elections. Here are a couple of other elections that are happening in Minnesota:
Minneapolis Public Schools
School Board Member at Large (pick one):
Hennepin County
County Commissioner District 6 (pick one):
County Commissioner District 7 (pick one):
State Senator District 44
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