Archive for October 2009
‘Cautionary’ Drop in September Minnesota Unemployment Rate Is Largest in Decades
A Smart Politics historical analysis of unemployment data over the last four decades finds the 0.7-point drop from August to September to be the largest percentage point decline in jobless claims since at least January 1976
Read MoreBachmann ‘Sends a Message to the Left’: Raises $89,000 in One Day
Bachmann raised $313,685 in 90 days from January through March of this year, or an average of $3,485 per day
Read MorePathway to the Governor’s Mansion in Minnesota, Part II: Where Are Political Careers Launched?
Only 14 of Minnesota’s 38 governors were born in the Gopher State
Read MorePathway to the Governor’s Mansion in Minnesota, Part I: Political Experience
Overall, 79 percent of Minnesota’s governors (30 of 38) had some form of state government experience before becoming governor
Read MoreHow Supportive Are Minnesotans of Gay Rights?
Polling conducted by Pioneer Press / MPR found narrow pluralities of Minnesotans to oppose an amendment banning gay marriage in both 2004 (49 to 43 percent) and 2006 (47 to 40 percent)
Read MoreWill Minnesotans Ever Support Public Financing of a New Vikings Stadium?
In May 2009, a Rasmussen poll found 75 percent of Minnesotans against using taxpayer money to build a Vikings stadium
Read MoreMidwest Has Highest Per Capita Rate of Iraq War Fatalities and Casualties
Minnesota has 5th highest number of fatalities in the nation in 2009
Read MoreMinnesota Remains Obama’s Upper Midwestern Stronghold
Presidential nominees who have swept through Minnesota, Iowa, and Wisconsin have won 23 of 27 elections since 1860
Read MoreAbsence Does Not Make the Heart Grow Fonder: Pawlenty Disapproval Rating Reaches All-Time High
Pawlenty’s periodic absences from a state decidedly not out of the woods of its economic and budget crises may be causing the Governor’s popularity to be taking a hit
Read MoreAre Klobuchar and Franken Exceeding Expectations? MN Senators Receive All-Time High Job Approval Marks
Klobuchar and Franken are enjoying their highest approval ratings since being elected in 2006 and 2008 respectively
Read More