Politics Friday – Details, episodes & analysis

Presidential election years can make for unpredictable outcomes down the ballot. 

For Minnesota, the party turns out its base — and connects with independents best — has the inside track to gain the gavels at the state’s Capitol. 

The Senate majority will be decided by a single, winner-take-all race in the western suburbs. As for the House, key races in northern Minnesota and some in the south could determine if the DFL trifecta will live on into 2025.  

MPR News politics editor Brian Bakst talks with House speaker Melissa Hortman, a Democrat and House minority leader Lisa Demuth, a Republican, about their party’s prospects in next month’s election.  

Later, a look at a northern Minnesota congressional race that features a rematch from two years ago.    

Guests:  

• House speaker Melissa Hortman, DFL-Brooklyn Park   




• House minority leader Lisa Demuth, R-Cold Spring 




• Jennifer Schultz, a DFL candidate for Minnesota’s 8th Congressional District seat. 

Subscribe to the Politics Friday podcast on: Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you get your podcast.  

Use the audio player above to listen to the full conversation. 

With fewer than three weeks left until Election Day, campaign ads for the presidency down to the Legislature have flooded the airwaves from your TV to your phone.  

But judges are on the election ballot, too. Judicial candidates are running for judgeships in local District Courts, the Court of Appeals and even the Minnesota Supreme Court. There are 100 races, although fewer than a tenth of them have multiple candidates to choose from. 

Most judges in Minnesota tend to be appointed by the governor, so why are those races on your ballot?  

Friday at noon, MPR News politics editor and his guests discuss judicial elections, and why incumbent judges rarely face serious challenges.  

Later, is the approaching election and partisan politics raising anxiety or straining your relationships? The creator of MPR’s Talking Sense initiative shares tips on how to weather the remaining weeks and the aftermath. Then, a sneak peek at the Walk a Mile in My News project.  

Guests:  

• Samuel Edmunds is the president of the Minnesota State Bar Association and a partner at Sieben Edmunds Miller, focusing on criminal defense and injury law. 




• Douglas Keith is a senior counsel in the Brennan Center’s Judiciary Program and the founding editor of State Court Report, a publication focused on state courts and state constitutional law.   




• Catharine Richert is an MPR News reporter and Talking Sense lead correspondent.  

It has been an extraordinary month in our nation’s politics. 

There’s been development after riveting development, with each eclipsing the last. And yet, with still 100 days to go till Election Day, this could be just a taste of what’s ahead.

MPR News host Brian Bakst talks with MPR political reporters Mark Zdechlik and Clay Masters about the last four weeks in politics and breaks down what the country has experienced.

Subscribe to the Politics Friday podcast on: Apple Podcasts, Spotify or RSS. Use the audio player above to listen to the full conversation.    

Democrat Joe Biden, the current president, and Republican Donald Trump, the former president, meet Thursday, June 27, for the first debate either candidate has been in since 2020. 

The presumed presidential rematch has been set for months — with both candidates earning the necessary primary wins to gain their party nominations, which they’ll formally accept at conventions later this summer. 

MPR News host Brian Bakst talks with presidential scholars and a former presidential candidate about the work it takes to prepare for a presidential debate and how Thursday’s debate could impact both campaigns over the next few months. 

Politics Friday will return to the airwaves later this fall for our weekly coverage of the 2024 Election. Until then, we’re coming straight to your podcast feeds — occasionally — throughout the summer.

Guests:  

• Tim Pawlenty is the former governor of Minnesota. He served from 2003 to 2011 and sought the 2012 Republican presidential nomination. 




• Tammy Vigil is the senior associate dean and associate professor of media science at Boston University. Previously, she has done work for the Commission on Presidential Debates. 




• Timothy Naftali is a presidential historian and former director of the Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum. He’s a senior research scholar at Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs.

Subscribe to the Politics Friday podcast on: Apple Podcasts, Spotify or RSS.  

Use the audio player above to listen to the full conversation.    

This week MPR News and other media partners released the first Minnesota Poll results of the year. The poll, in partnership with MPR News, KARE 11 and the Star Tribune, revealed a close race for president. 

The Minnesota Poll also offered a glimpse at top issues for voters and showed the unease many have about Biden and Trump.  

In this Politics Friday podcast, MPR News host and politics editor Brian Bakst and his guests talk about the poll results and what they suggest about where this election year is headed. 

Politics Friday will return to the airwaves later this fall for our weekly coverage of the 2024 Election. Until then, we’re coming straight to your podcast feeds — occasionally — throughout the summer. 

Guests:  

• Craig Helmstetter is the managing partner of the APM Research Lab at Minnesota Public Radio.  




• Briana Bierschbach is a politics and government reporter with the Star Tribune.  




• John Croman is a politics reporter for KARE 11. 

The 2024 DFL State Convention will be held at the Duluth Entertainment and Convention Center in Duluth beginning Friday afternoon.

Coming up Friday at noon, a special edition of Politics Friday with a preview of the DFL convention. MPR News host Brian Bakst will talk with DFL Chairman Ken Martin and state Sen. Kelly Morrison, the endorsed candidate for Congress in Minnesota’s 3rd Congressional District.

Later, a roundtable conversation with DFL delegates as they get ready to gather for their party’s convention.

The DFL is in its second year of control of the House, Senate and governor’s office. 

Over the last four months, the DFL passed a rideshare ordinance, a bill on gun restrictions with a tougher penalty for “straw purchasers” and various cannabis resolutions. But there’s also a list of bills that didn’t pass from an equal rights amendment to sports betting bill and a construction projects plan.

MPR News host Brian Bakst talked to Gov. Tim Walz about his take on the 2024 legislative Session. Later, the Republican perspective on this year’s session with Sen. Julia Coleman of Waconia and the assistant minority leader in the Minnesota Senate.  

Plus, MPR Capitol reporters Dana Ferguson and Clay Masters told us more about what got done at the Capitol this year, what got left behind and what it means for the campaign already under way.  

The Minnesota Republican Party convention gets underway at the St. Paul RiverCentre, with the selection of national delegates and endorsement of a U.S. Senate candidate on the to-do list. Former President Donald Trump is scheduled to speak at the party’s annual Lincoln-Reagan fundraising dinner which will be held in association with the convention.  

Coming up Friday at noon, a special edition of Politics Friday from the 2024 State Convention for Minnesota Republicans. MPR News host Brian Bakst and the MPR politics team conduct interviews and a look at the scenes at the convention.

Later, a recap of the session-ending sprint at the state Capitol with MPR News senior politics reporters Dana Ferguson and Clay Masters.

Minnesota lawmakers have only one more full week to finish up the legislative session’s work.  

MPR News host Brian Bakst spoke with two leaders of the Minnesota House about the authorization of construction projects, a touch-up of the state budget, updates to Minnesota’s new cannabis law and a possible plan to set minimum pay and protections for rideshare drivers — all still up in the air. 

And May 11 not only marks Minnesota Statehood Day, but a new state flag goes up the pole and a new state seal will replace the old. We got a look at the redesign process that spurred thousands of submissions — and months of debate — and what transition means for Minnesota.

Plus, two members of MPR Capitol reporting team, Dana Ferguson and Clay Masters, huddled up for a weekly check-in on Minnesota politics. 

The two weeks that remain in the Minnesota Legislature’s 2024 session will result in a flurry of votes, negotiations and certainly twists.

One key piece of unfinished business is the bonding bill — the slate of publicly financed construction projects that need state signoff to move ahead.  

MPR News host Brian Bakst talks with the chair of the House Capital Investment Committee about the construction financing plan as it comes together.  

Also, what might an upcoming Senate Ethics Committee hearing look like? The conduct of two members in the closely divided chamber is under review. 

Plus, the latest in MPR News’ peer-led conversations with Gen. Z voters about how they’re approaching the coming election.

Later, a check-in with a pair of Capitol reporters as the legislative session reaches its home stretch. MPR’s Dana Ferguson and Peter Callaghan from the MinnPost join the conversation.

Guests:

• Rep. Fue Lee is the Chair of the House Capital Investment Committee.  




• Ember Reichgott Junge is a former senator, DFL-Robbinsdale, and served as the committee chair for the Rules and Administration - Subcommittee on Ethical Conduct Committee in the Minnesota Senate.  




• Marko Mirkovic is a student at the University of Minnesota.  




• Jack Christensen is a student at the University of Minnesota.  




• Charlie Eggers is a student at the University of Minnesota.  

Subscribe to the Politics Friday podcast on: Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, or RSS.   

Use the audio player above to listen to the full conversation.