Tony Sutton

MNGOP circumvention scheme

Financial chicanery goes beyond recount

MNGOP scandal: "Smoking gun" email suggests alleged recount scheme was just the beginning

SEE ALSO: MNGOP: Alleged recount debt conspiracy could mean jail time for Sutton, dissolution of partyAn email obtained by the Minnesota Campaign Finance Board suggests the MNGOP's alleged illegal financial shenanigans might not have been limited to the effort to pay legal bills stemming from the th ... More >>

MNGOP: Alleged recount debt conspiracy could mean jail time for Sutton, dissolution of party

SEE ALSO: Tony Sutton fined $3,000, MNGOP fined $26,900 by Minnesota Campaign Finance BoardIt just keeps getting worse for the MNGOP.During a news conference this morning, Common Cause Executive Director Mike Dean announced his watchdog organization is filing criminal complaints against the MNGOP an ... More >>

Tony Sutton fined $3,000, MNGOP fined $26,900 by Minnesota Campaign Finance Board

SEE ALSO:-- MNGOP report reveals "inadequate transparency and oversight" of party finances-- MNGOP: "No state party may be in worse financial shape," writes Politico-- MNGOP evicted from office space, owes about $100,000 to landlordThe fallout from Tony Sutton's disastrous run as MNGOP chairman cont ... More >>

MNGOP report reveals "inadequate transparency and oversight" of party finances

An internal review committee formed to look into the Minnesota Republican Party's finances found no "theft" at the MNGOP but uncovered evidence of mismanagement. The committee's members -- Pat Anderson, Scott Dutcher, Kelly Fenton, Randy Gilbert, Jeff Johnson, Terry McCall, Bron Scherer, Rick Weibl ... More >>

MNGOP evicted from office space, owes about $100,000 to landlord

Talk about a bad tenant!Politics in Minnesota reports that Massachusetts-based Hub Properties Trust has filed paperwork in Ramsey County to evict the MNGOP from the Capitol Office Building space the party had been "renting."We say "renting" because in an internal party memo leaked to Politico earlie ... More >>

MNGOP: 'No state party may be in worse financial shape,' writes Politico

Late last year, the MNGOP announced that it was a whopping $2 million in debt.The party's dire financial predicament led to Tony Sutton's resignation as the chair of the party. Sutton was replaced by Pat Shortridge, but the damage was already done, according to a Politico analysis of the balance she ... More >>

Why has the DFL's debt received less coverage than the MNGOP's?

​The MNGOP is $2 million in debt. But did you know the MNDFL is also in the red?DFL Chair Ken Martin disclosed that his party is $581,000 in debt earlier this month -- about $350,000 more than the debt he discussed with reporters late last year.So why hasn't the DFL's debt gotten more coverage? Co ... More >>

MNGOP accused of violating campaign finance law

​We knew that the Minnesota Republican Party's financial situation is ugly -- but in self-flagellating with the ugly stick, did the MNGOP also violate the law?Yes it did, argues Mike Dean, Common Cause Minnesota's executive director.

MN GOP Secretary-Treasurer David Sturrock resigns

​The almost-unwatchable train-wreck that is the Minnesotan Republican Party wrecks onward. Last night, Secretary Treasurer David Sturrock tendered his resignation, effective January 19. In his barbed letter to other Republicans, Sturrock seems to indicate that his decision was triggered by today' ... More >>

MN GOP is $2 million in debt

Former GOP Party Chair Tony Sutton is batting 2 million.​According to new figures released today by the Republican Party's own Internal Finance Review Committee, the GOP is up to its neck in debt -- about $2 million worth. "The debt number is honestly higher than any of us wants it to be," said c ... More >>

Dave Senjem named new Senate majority leader

​Dave Senjem is the new majority leader in the Minnesota Senate. Senjem, 69, has built a reputation as consensus-building Republican who is willing to work with DFLers. He has expressed support for using gambling proceeds to fund a new Vikings stadium, meaning his election to one of the most power ... More >>

Tony Sutton and Baja Sol owed over $250,000 in back taxes

Tony Sutton had to beat away the debt collectors.​Tony Sutton was apparently as bad with his own money as he was with the Minnesota Republican Party's, according to records obtained by City Pages.Sutton "sold out" of Baja Sol, the Mexican restaurant chain he ran with his wife, Bridget Sutton, in ... More >>

The MNGOP All-Scandal Team: Can't anybody here play this game?

Put your hands together and make some noise for your MNGOP Scandal starting line-up!​After it was revealed that the Vikings lead all NFL teams in arrests, we published a satirical post entitled "Meet the Vikings All-Arrested Team." Although no one has been arrested (unless you count expired tabs), ... More >>

Amy Koch apologizes for "engaging in a relationship with a Senate staffer"

Amy Koch wants forgiveness for her affair with a senate staffer​Amy Koch apologized late this afternoon for "engaging in a relationship with a Senate staffer," though she did not name the individual.Koch declared in an official statement that she's "made some mistakes and errors in judgment" and h ... More >>

Mike Osskopp, candidate for MNGOP chair, once yelled about "Jap cars" [UPDATE]

Mike Osskopp doesn't like people who drive "Jap cars."​UPDATE: Mike Osskopp has dropped out of the race for the MNGOP chair and will support Pat Shortridge instead. He still hates "Jap cars" though.Mike Osskopp, one of two candidates for the MNGOP chair, once had to apologize for shouting about "J ... More >>

Minnesota GOP fined $170,000 for FEC violations

The state GOP failed to report nearly $1 million in debt.​The worst time to owe someone money is when you're in debt. That's the case with the  Republican Party of Minnesota, which is already in debt, but now owes the Federal Election Commission $170,000 for campaign finance violations. Funny ... More >>

Shutdown will end with Dayton's signature

America's longest state shutdown could finally end.​By signing his name 12 times, Mark Dayton could end the shutdown this morning. It took six months of arguing and 19 days of shutdown, but the legislature's special session finally passed 12 budget bills, with the last of them passing at around 3: ... More >>

Business as usual for state GOP during shutdown, including salaries

Tony Sutton will still get paid during the shutdown.​With Gov. Mark Dayton and a slew of legislators not taking their paychecks during the state government shutdown, City Pages thought it would check up on the state political parties. Eleven of the 14 state senators skipping their salary are Repub ... More >>

DFL still getting paid during shutdown

Ken Martin's also getting paid during the shutdown. Are you?​When City Pages asked GOP head Tony Sutton if he would still draw paychecks during the state shutdown, he said yes, and then asked, "Well, what's the DFL doing?"The answer is, yes, the DFL's still going to get paid.Party chair Ken Martin ... More >>

Dayton complains about GOP using shutdown to raise money

Minnesota's shut down, but the state GOP isn't.​Mark Dayton says Minnesota Republicans are trying to mine the state shutdown for campaign money. The governor criticized the GOP for hitting up contributors while Minnesota can't pay for highway repairs and state parks. In a response to City Pages th ... More >>

Countdown to government shutdown: Who's to blame?

Minnesota lawmakers have until July 1 to get it together.​As of today, the Minnesota Legislature is two-and-a-half weeks tardy in solving the state's $5 billion budget deficit. Unfortunately for everyone, there doesn't appear to be a budget deal in sight. If no agreement is made by July 1st, ... More >>

Tony Sutton leaves Baja Sol for P.R.

Under chairman Tony Sutton, the GOP regained control of the Legislature, if not the governor's mansion.​In the summer of 2009 we profiled Minnesota GOP Chairman Tony Sutton, and asked whether he could turn around a party on the state level that seemed to have lost its bearings on a national scale. ... More >>

Tom Emmer concedes governor's race to Mark Dayton [UPDATE]

Tom Emmer says it's time to move on.​Given the steady drip, drip, drip of his failed ballot challenges and dead-end legal maneuvers since Election Day, it almost seems anticlimactic that Republican Tom Emmer has finally concluded that his race for governor is lost. A lot of GOP insiders, and ... More >>

Tom Emmer quitting race. Mark Dayton will govern Minnesota

Mark Dayton will be the next governor of Minnesota.​It's over. Republican candidate for governor Tom Emmer will concede the race to Democrat Mark Dayton in an official announcement at 10:30 a.m. tomorrow in his hometown of Delano. Emmer decided to quit his recount battle against Dayton just h ... More >>

Tom Emmer's recount ship is sinking

Arranging deck chairs on the Titanic?​Tom Emmer's Team Frivolous did the right thing Saturday, withdrawing almost 2,600 frivolous challenges to recounted ballots in Hennepin County. On Sunday, the Great Withdrawal continued as they took similar action on the work of their overzealous troops i ... More >>

Emmer petitions MN Supreme Court over ballots. [UPDATES]

Every vote should count, right?​Tom Emmer's legal eagles are taking another shot at helping their candidate beat Mark Dayton in court. They have petitioned the Minnesota Supreme Court to order every election judge across the state to prove that the number of voters and the number of votes ca ... More >>

Mark Ritchie wins re-election so he can run another recount

Time for a recount re-match.​The Republicans couldn't beat Al Franken in the 2008 U.S. Senate election that stretched into the 2009 recount, and they've been after Secretary of State Mark Ritchie ever since. He ran a biased and incompetent recount, they insisted. He gave us "felons for Frank ... More >>

Tony Sutton says GOP 'quilsings' are not Nazi sympathizers

Tony Sutton hits hard.​About a year ago, we described Minnesota GOP chair Tony Sutton as a tough-as-nails operative, unafraid to butt heads in his drive to help Republicans win elected office. So it didn't surprise us that he slammed fellow Republicans who yesterday endorsed independent guber ... More >>

Tom Emmer's drunken driving past slammed in new ad [VIDEO]

Is Tom Emmer's drunken driving record a legit political target?​Drunken driving arrests in a candidate's past are kind of like a gun on stage in the first act. It's a safe bet that as the story unfolds, the DWIs, like the gun, are going to come into play. And so it goes: A new ad released yest ... More >>

Newsweek takes Al Franken seriously

Image via FacebookA serious constitutionalist, or "the knee-jerk liberal everyone thought he would be?"​Al Franken's doodling and dozing at Elena Kagan's Supreme Court confirmation hearings last week created some web buzz and the usual criticisms of Senator Smalley. But when it came time for F ... More >>

Jimmy John's on Hennepin targeted by AZ immigration law foes [Video]

​Twin Cities foes of Arizona's controversial new anti-immigration law picked a new target Monday evening: The Jimmy John's sandwich shop at 600 Hennepin Avenue. (Video after the jump.) Arizona Boycott Clearinghouse says Jimmy John's is a protest target because founder James Liautaud contribut ... More >>

GOP complaint against Tom Horner nixed by board. (That was fast)

​Who says the government isn't efficient? It took the Minnesota Campaign Finance and Public Disclosure Board just a day to consign a Republican complaint against IP gubernatorial candidate Tom Horner to the "out" box. The complaint alleges that former Republican Horner received an illegal cam ... More >>

Tom Horner picks Jim Mulder for governor's race running mate

Tom Horner​IPer Tom Horner has named Jim Mulder as his running mate in the 2010 governor's race, adding another layer of former-Republican wonkishness, and outstate expertise, to his campaign. Among a laundry list of public policy initiatives, Mulder spent the last two decades as executive di ... More >>

Margaret Anderson Kelliher: The fight for Minnesota governor

MAK faces her toughest test yet, but could make history

Republicans pass secession resolution in 5th district

​A peculiar strain of crazy apparently took over the Republicans' fifth congressional district nominating convention on Saturday. The local members of the party of Lincoln passed a secession resolution on a voice vote: "Be it resolved the Republican Party of Minnesota supports nullification o ... More >>

Tony Sutton rips into Collin Peterson

​Here's the issue: Democratic U.S Rep. Collin Peterson, who represents the 7th congressional district, voted against the health care reform bill. Later, he said that since it had become the law of the land, he would work with it. To Republicans who have made "repeal and replace" their new batt ... More >>

Bachmann and Twitter grow to be fast friends

Crazy congresswoman building empire of tweeps

Minneapolis homicides: Murderopolis redux?

Mayor R.T. Rybak: "We've had several good years followed by several bad nights"

Mark Dayton makes run for governor official tomorrow

The former senator plans to visit all 87 Minnesota counties in 87 days following his Wednesday announcement.

GOP Chair Sutton calls DFLer Dayton's alcoholism "not relevant"

Dayton is one of 11 Democrats seeking the governorship. We'll see how this plays out.

Hinderaker accuses Strib of burying Dayton's issues for years

Power Line blogger says "news" about gubernatorial candidate's alcoholism, depression is anything but.

Michele Bachmann: Crazy like a fox

The Minnesota congresswoman gives Sarah Palin a run for her money

Readers respond to "Sutton Impact"

Tony Sutton: Savior of Minnesota's Republican Party?

"Relentless" Sutton leading state's GOP out of the wilderness

Off Beat

Off Beat

You Down with GOP?

An obscure conservative organization peddles Republican-sanctioned hip hop to the masses

Log Cabin Fever

Gay Republicans invite themselves to the party