Minnesota
Do Minnesota Democrats do better in years when Amy Klobuchar is on the ballot?
Democratic lore has been building in Minnesota around Amy Klobuchar for the nearly two decades she’s been in statewide politics.
Since she was first elected to the U.S. Senate in 2006, Klobuchar has achieved unquestionable popularity in Minnesota, easily defeating Republican challengers in her two re-election campaigns with more than 60% of the vote.
That popularity is something some Democrats have come to count on — they argue it translates into a down-ballot boost for DFL candidates running for Congress and the state Legislature. Klobuchar, who is expected to get her party’s endorsement at the DFL’s state convention this weekend, is back on the ballot this fall seeking a fourth term in the U.S. Senate.
“She not only wins significantly in parts of the state that other Democrats running statewide underperform in, she has coattails that lift up other candidates running,” said DFL Party Chair Ken Martin, who calls Klobuchar the “speaker-maker” for helping to flip the state House. “She’s not only one of the most popular politicians, she has amazing staying power.”
Using voter data going back more than three decades, an analysis found a correlation between election years when Klobuchar is on the ballot and better results for Democrats in many other races. She’s consistently won her elections with a larger percentage of the vote than other statewide candidates, and every year she’s run, the DFL Party has won whichever chambers of the Legislature were on the ballot.
The DFL flipped the state House and held the state Senate in 2006, the year the then-Hennepin County attorney first ran for U.S. Senate. The state House and Senate both flipped to DFL control in 2012, Klobuchar’s first run for re-election. The Senate was not on the ballot during her third race in 2018, but the House flipped to DFL control after being held by Republicans for four years.
Years when Klobuchar runs statewide typically see a higher overall performance for DFL candidates in the U.S. House, state House and state Senate compared to other years. Democrats are trying to hold control of the Minnesota House and the flip the U.S. House this fall.
Jeff Blodgett, a DFL operative who has worked on statewide U.S. Senate and presidential campaigns in Minnesota, said Klobuchar’s own personal brand of politics enhances the party’s broader brand, especially with independent voters. Her focus on middle-class economic issues such as price gouging, junk fees and monopolies has helped endear her to a broad set of voters, he said.
“Independent voters in Minnesota find her familiar, comfortable, likable,” he said. “Increasingly, it’s a nice contrast to the harsh, extreme candidates the other side puts forward.”
But longtime Republican consultant and campaign operative Gregg Peppin said Democrats’ overall success in years Klobuchar has been on the ballot is “largely coincidental.”
The 2006 election was good for Democrats across the board amid backlash to the George W. Bush administration and the war in Iraq, he noted. In 2012, Barack Obama sought a second term and Minnesota Democrats turned out to oppose constitutional amendments to ban gay marriage and require an ID to vote. Democrats across the country did well in 2018, the midterm election during Donald Trump’s presidency.
“Elections are much more determined by external events and the external environment than they are by one person on the ballot,” Peppin said.
The 2024 election year will be different, with a race largely driven by how people feel about the rematch between former President Donald Trump and President Joe Biden, he said. Klobuchar’s fourth run for the Senate will also be her first since her 2020 presidential campaign.
“Biden isn’t that popular, and she hasn’t been in that situation where there has been an unpopular Democrat at the top of the ticket,” Peppin said. “She also ran for president herself and some Minnesotans might have questions.”
Republicans have endorsed former NBA player and Steven Bannon acolyte Royce White to run against Klobuchar this fall, but he could face a GOP primary challenge from former naval officer and businessman Joe Fraser.
The bigger battle for the DFL may be internal, said Annette Meeks, a longtime Republican operative. Democrats in the Twin Cities have moved further to the left and pushed issues that Klobuchar has not, she added.
“The DFL has to decide who they are: Are they the moderates, like Amy Klobuchar and her ilk, versus the more radical wing?” Meeks said. “She might have to answer some tough questions about that in certain parts of the state.”
Klobuchar was last on the ballot during a presidential year in 2012. She outperformed Obama by more than 300,000 votes, in part because she travels to every corner of Minnesota, said Mike Erlandson, a former DFL Party chair.
“Some people say it’s silly that she visits all 87 counties every year, but it’s things like that that keeps her connected to Minnesota voters in a way other [candidates] have not attained,” he said.
She also runs like she’s 20 points behind, despite not drawing a top-tier candidate in her last two re-election battles, Erlandson said. “That will help Democrats up and down the ballot, from Biden to the U.S. House to the Legislature.”
Martin said Klobuchar works with other candidates, and other candidates “want to hitch their wagon to her because she’s so popular.”
“There are lots of question marks for Democrats right now, but the one constant is Amy Klobuchar.”
With family by his side, Dennis “Bud” Peterson went to be with the Lord on the morning of June 1, 2026.
He was born at Drake, North Dakota on April 2, 1932 in the home of his parents Nick and Helen Peterson. The family moved to Duluth at the beginning of World War II.
After graduation from Duluth Central High School Bud served in the US Army in Korea during the Korean War, and received an Honorable Discharge with the rank of Sergeant. He used his GI Bill benefits to attend UMD receiving an Associate Degree, and also earned his Commercial Instrument Pilot rating.
Bud was a longtime employee of St. Louis County retiring as Supervisor of Roads and Bridges. In retirement he served as Boiler Engineer and a do it all repairman for Duluth Gospel Tabernacle. He generously devoted his time and talents as a consummate do it yourself repairman to all of his family.
Dennis is preceded in death by his parents, Nick & Helen Peterson; brother, Robert Peterson; sister, June (Don) Kruger; and infant brother and sister, James and Delores Peterson.
He is survived by his sister, Carol (Eli) Miletich; and numerous nieces and nephews all of whom he loved dearly.
At Bud’s request, his family will be holding a private funeral service. Arrangements by Dougherty Funeral Home 218-727-3555.
The Minnesota Department of Human Services is reexamining over 5,000 Medicaid service providers across the state in an effort to combat fraud.
The federal government said it would pull $2 billion in annual Medicaid funding from Minnesota in January if the state didn’t make changes.
The Minnesota Department of Human Services set out to revalidate thousands of providers in programs deemed high risk for fraud by asking providers to submit verification paperwork and making unannounced site visits. The deadline passed on Sunday.
The latest data, published on May 27, shows 1,009 providers approved, 1,151 disenrolled and over 3,000 providers with pending applications.
Paige Berland and Camille Heyman run Minnesota Behavioral Specialists, providing autism care to children through two locations in the metro area. The women say that after submitting their paperwork, they received letters from DHS with determinations for both locations: the Bloomington center was terminated and the Eagan office was approved.
“It doesn’t make sense, everything is the same minus the location,” Berland said. “So why was one approved and one wasn’t approved?”
The termination letter said the Bloomington center was denied because they failed to disclose a managing employee during a site visit. Berland disputes that and said she already submitted an appeal.
“We were told to keep running, keep continuing as we are while we go through this process,” she said. “It just means that we don’t have the money coming in.”
Josh Berg with Accessible Space says they’re also in limbo. Berg said they offer integrated community supports, which means caretakers provide in-unit assistance for people with spinal cord injuries and disabilities.
“Most of the folks that we support are wheelchair-bound,” Berg said. “Helping with meals, helping with medications, helping them just live their lives.”
Berg said that of the seven locations where people are housed, the Department of Human Services terminated five and approved two. He believes the timeline to conduct this revalidation process was too aggressive. He said Accessible Space has also submitted an appeal.
“We’re not able to bill for services, we’re not able to start new services for anybody or change any of the supports that they receive,” he said.
Both Berg and Berland say they agree fraud needs to be dealt with, but they hope Minnesotans who truly need services aren’t left without the services they need.
“Not just the clients rely on services, but the families do too, so we can’t stop services; that’s not an option on our plate,” Berland said. “We want to continue to provide these services; they are medically necessary.”
The Minnesota Department of Human Services said a disenrollment letter could be sent for a few reasons, including failure to submit revalidation application after two notification attempts, failure to provide all requested documents within the required timeframe and failure to meet the criteria required during an on-site visit.
A spokesperson for the Department of Human Services said it’s currently in the process of compiling data from the thousands of applications, but didn’t say when the department would share those final numbers.
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The Minnesota Republican Party is distancing itself from a moment of silence held for Derek Chauvin during its state convention, saying the gesture was not part of leadership planning, not included in the official program, and should not be interpreted as a party position.
GOP officials said in a Monday, June 1 Facebook post that the recognition of the former Minneapolis police officer, who was convicted in the killing of George Floyd in 2020, emerged from a spontaneous delegate motion on the convention floor and was not initiated or endorsed by leadership.
The controversy quickly escalated after state leaders, civil rights attorneys and Democratic lawmakers condemned the action, describing it as deeply harmful to Floyd’s family and inconsistent with accountability under the law.
The moment of silence took place during the party’s annual gathering in Duluth on May 30 and comes just days after the sixth anniversary of Floyd’s murder in Minneapolis, an event that reshaped national debates over policing and racial justice.
Republican Party of Minnesota says gesture was not leadership action
In a statement, the Republican Party of Minnesota said the recognition of Derek Chauvin originated as a delegate request during floor proceedings at the convention in Duluth and was handled under standard rules of order.
Party officials emphasized that convention leadership, including chair Danny Nadeau, did not propose the motion. The statement said leadership’s role was procedural only, and that presiding over the motion did not reflect agreement with or endorsement of its subject matter.
Officials reiterated that the convention agenda itself did not include any planned recognition of Chauvin and said the episode should not be interpreted as a leadership-driven decision or policy stance.
Minnesota attorney general calls action ‘profound cruelty’
Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison, who led the prosecution of Chauvin, sharply criticized the gesture, calling it an “act of profound cruelty” toward the Floyd family.
Ellison said the timing, so close to the anniversary of Floyd’s death, compounded the harm.
He said honoring Chauvin “dishonors the memory of George Floyd and wounds his loved ones all over again,” and called it “disturbing” to recognize someone convicted of violating his oath as a police officer.
Ellison also said the action was “disrespectful” to law enforcement officers who serve honorably, and reaffirmed that courts had already upheld Chauvin’s conviction through multiple appeals.
Broader backlash and political fallout
Democratic state Rep. Jamie Long called the moment of silence “disgusting,” arguing that Republicans chose to honor a convicted murderer rather than victims of violence or service members.
The gesture also drew criticism from civil rights attorneys Ben Crump and Antonio Romanucci, who represented George Floyd’s family in its civil case after his death. The attorneys called the moment of silence immoral and demanded a retraction and apology, saying it disrespected both the Floyd family and the broader public record of Chauvin’s conviction.
Floyd was killed on May 25, 2020, when Chauvin, a white former Minneapolis police officer, knelt on his neck for more than nine minutes. Chauvin was later convicted of second-degree murder, third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter, and sentenced to 22½ years in state prison.
The killing sparked global protests and became a defining moment in the Black Lives Matter movement and debates over policing in the United States.
Chauvin’s conviction has been upheld through multiple appeals, including a denial by the U.S. Supreme Court in 2023, and he is serving his sentence in federal custody.
Party officials say despite the controversy, their focus remains on candidate endorsements and upcoming elections, not the floor action that triggered the backlash.
Reporter Anthony Thompson can be reached at ajthompson@usatodayco.com, or on X @athompsonUSAT.
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