Before You Tell Me Who to Vote for in My State of Minnesota

[MineralMan]

Please tell me what state you live in, who is running for office there, and what you're doing to elect Democrats in your state. That'd be great. I promise to avoid telling you what to do in yours.

Look homeward to win. Don't look at other people's elections. You won't have anything to do with how they turn out. How are your districts and states doing. Is there something you could be doing to help? Are you doing that?

Please turn your attention to your own elections.

[LisaL]

1. Yes, cause clearly electing a Senator will only affect Minnesota.

It's not like we need a majority in a Senate or anything.

[RandySF]

2. Either Dem will win

but I personally like Peggy after Angie’s rotisserie chicken vote.

[jmbar2]

3. I am inundated everyday with requests for donations from out-of-state candidates.

Asking for my help to get your vote.

[Ocelot II]

4. I respectfully disagree in this regard: We can and should, if possible, contribute to the campaigns

of candidates in red states where the Democrat is an underfunded underdog, in order to help ensure that Democrats get or hold a majority in one or both houses. As far as which Democrat is chosen at the state level, that's a matter for the state's voters to choose, based in part on local considerations that non-residents might not know about or understand. For example, while Peggy Flanagan is a strong candidate to win the Minnesota Senate seat she wouldn't have a snowball's chance in Hell if she were running in Texas - but it looks like James Talarico could pull it off. Some think Graham Platner is a problematic candidate in Maine, but the Democrats chose him and his opponent is Susan Collins, so the voters in that state are going to have to decide which of two imperfect candidates they prefer. All politics really is local.

[MineralMan]

5. Oh, I donate to out of state candidates, when I think it will matter.

I just don't try to tell people in other states who they should choose as candidates. That's way out of my area of expertise.

[Cirsium]

8. Got it

You just want to silence people with whom you disagree.

[MineralMan]

9. Oh, bother. Bye for now.

[Cirsium]

10. OK

Isn't that what you are saying? Can I praise a Minnesota candidate that you like? Or can I not say anything about Minnesota politics at all since I don't live there?

I would never tell you not to comment about candidates in my state.

[MineralMan]

11. You can say anything you like about any candidate in Minnesota.

I don't care. I won't pay any attention to it, though, because you don't really know the candidate. That's my job. I do know the candidates.

So chatter away, Suit yourself.

As for your state, I have no idea what state you live in. You don't list it in your profile. So,

[ret5hd]

12. if the airwaves/news reports/donation requests/other info...

stopped at the state line we wouldn’t be having this conversation, would we?

you admitted upstream to donating to out of state candidates. stop it.

[MineralMan]

13. Wait, you want me to stop donating to out of state candidates?

Why? I don't tell people for whom to vote in their state, but I try to help Democratic candidates who are short of campaign funds when I can. I don't have a lot to give, so it's only a token thing, really.

But, if you say so, maybe I'll stop donating altogether, then. Your opinion means that much to me, you see...

[ret5hd]

19. No, I want youn to stop treating others as unruly children...

to be chastised, Papa Mineralman.

[MerryBlooms]

16. You're allowed to donate, but hush... Keep them pretty finger typing tips to yourself ❤️

But, no offense

[Cirsium]

15. Really?

I would guess that there are many people in Minnesota who know less about Minnesota politics than I do.

I didn't know there was a place to list one's state in their profile. Not sure what that has to do with anything. I'm in Michigan. Say one word about Soapy Williams or Phillip Hart and you and I are done!

[MineralMan]

18. No worries. Never heard of either of them.

I just looked them up though. Nothing to say.

[Cirsium]

32. hmmm

I know about Humphrey, Mondale, Wellstone, Franken...for starters. Hart and Williams were pretty important in Democratic party politics.

[MineralMan]

62. And none of them are running for any office right now. They are all irrelevant.

I'm interested in current candidates, you see.

[Cirsium]

64. No worries

Thanks for the back and forth. There are a lot of prickly plants in the Cirsium genus. I watched people from out of state destroy Representative Bart Stupak's career, probably the best we could have done in Northern Michigan and the last time we had a Democratic representative here. So, I am sympathetic to what you're saying.

[Scrivener7]

33. Are you in the district where Sean Mccann is running for the House?

He's a relative by marraige. Go Sean!! Vote for Sean!!

(Said proudly of a Michigan candidate by a New Yorker. And he's who is getting all my donation dollars these days, so I guess I'm wrong on all counts. Oh well! )

[Cirsium]

49. No

He's running down in district 4 - Kalamazoo, Battle Creek, Benton Harbor, Holland. We are in district 1 - the northern half of the state. He's a good one. We haven't had had a decent rep here in the North since Stupak. But I'm sorry, you can't talk about McCann if you don't live in Michigan.

We did donate to him. What were we thinking? We don't live in his district.

[Scrivener7]

50. He's seriously so impressive, and such a good guy

[Cirsium]

52. After more research...

I am finding a lot of violations of the MineralMan rule. Here is a band from California singing about Kalamazoo:

Apparently this sort of thing has been going on for a long time. The leader of this band was from Iowa.

zoo zoo zoo

[Boo1]

46. What do you think that money is for?

Trying to influence other states voters is exactly what you are doing.

[MineralMan]

48. Oh, for pity's sake!

I know exactly what it's for. But, what I'm doing when I donate to a specific candidate. I'm helping him or her speak to local voters. See, I hope to elect more Democrats to office, so I donate when I think that will help.

Other than that, though, I stay out of elections not in my state or districts.

I thought I was pretty clear about that. Maybe you just want an argument. I won't play.

[Cirsium]

6. Are we allowed to donate?

Are we allowed to donate to candidates in Minnesota if we live in another state? Are we allowed to defend candidates in Minnesota ? Are we allowed to volunteer for them? Are we no longer affected by the votes of US Reps and Senators if we don't live in their state?

[MineralMan]

7. Of course. I donate to out of state candidates

when I think it will help. I can't vote in other states, though, so my opinion of candidates doesn't really matter in primary season.

[BannonsLiver]

22. Better clear it with the OP first just to be safe.

😉

[LisaL]

24. Oh, he is fine with donations.

It's just the opinions he has a problem with.
We can't have an opinion about someone from a different state, don't you know?

[MerryBlooms]

14. Lol, that's a Big ask from a political board.

DU's traffic would take a big hit. I don't want that to happen. Your mileage may differ.
btw, even though the fundraiser is over, if folks are able to kick in a few bucks to our favorite Political discourse board, please let those couple bucks do their thing, keeping us up and running. 🥰🤗

[MineralMan]

17. Well, I've been around here for quite some time.

Even so, I don't mess around with campaigns in other states. I focus on Presidential campaigns, mostly. I keep watch on the House and Senate, of course, but rely on the citizens of each state and district to elect their own folks. Sometimes, I despair of some states, but I sure can't affect them.

Sometimes there's a candidate who might flip a seat. Then, I'm interested, but only to see if he or she can win if he or she is a Democrat. If there's a chance for a Democrat to flip a seat, I'm all for it, even if that candidate isn't one I'd support in my own state. That could be the situation in Maine, but I have no influence there so I stay out of it. I hope a Democrat wins, though.

We had a similar thing here in Minnesota with a Senator. It seem like he had some sort of sexual assault thing, maybe, maybe not. But, he got ridden out of office by folks who don't live here. We'd have kept him, but he got hounded until he resigned. Maybe you remember him. I saw the videos. He never touched that woman at that USO show. He was joking around, pretty obviously. But he got driven out of office. What a shame. And by people who pretended to be on our side. You remember Al Franken, right? Ugly shit, that was, indeed. Costly, too.

So, you see, I'm familiar with that sort of thing. I didn't like it here, so I don't do it there.

[MerryBlooms]

25. Are you okay with those of us out of state that supported Franken?

Should we have also just kept our mouths quiet?
Nope. I respectfully disagree.
I've been involved in politics a bit, I registered to vote on my 18th birthday in 81. That was a big deal for me. Went to my first political rally on my dad's shoulders when I was four, saw Bobby Kennedy.
Keep on trucking, MM. 🫡

[MerryBlooms]

31. On the bright side, in case you didn't like my previous comment...

Perhaps you're a feral rescue cat fan? After almost 8 years, the big daddy Blue Russian, dad of 13 all snypd and some rehomed, touched my hand for the first time. Yes, I cried. I also cried after it took him 5 years enough to sleep in his heated bed. Watching his mate, she never mated with anyone else, we have a true Blue Russian clowder. BEAUTIFUL. You wouldn't believe the amount of blood I have shed, but not one infection. They're all altered and some rehomed. It was a labor of love.
Politics is kinda a labor of love. We care about you and everyone in every state, just like we're hoping you care about us.
So, comment, donate, I don't know about others, but I'm happy folks are engaged 🥰🥰🥰

[niyad]

53. Oh, I just want to cry. .Thank you for sharing such lovely news!!!

[MineralMan]

63. Sadly, it didn't work.

I supported him here, too!

[ColoringFool]

35. You Do Understand That Your Actions Haven't Been Established....

As our Standard, right?

Like, we don't measure what we do or say against what you do or what you would prefer that we do.

CAPISCE?

[senseandsensibility]

20. I agree that people usually know the candidates and issues in their state of residence

the best. As a Californian, I get many replies from non California voters with opinions about our Governor race, especially. Doesn't bother me. They have their opinion, and if they are mistaken about some aspect of the situation I try to enlighten them. Many times it just comes down to what they view as important. But that's what discussions are all about, right?

[BannonsLiver]

21. lol simmer down

Nobody’s telling you who to vote for. Good lord. 😂🙄

[littlemissmartypants]

23. There are always going to be bad actors with nefarious intentions among us. ...

The trick is depriving them of oxygen when necessary while lifting the good ones among us and having good sense enough to know the difference.

[Scrivener7]

26. WTF?

[Buddyzbuddy]

27. I'm in California.

I desperately wanted Katie Porter for my Governor but she left us no choice but to vote for Becerra or Steyer. Becerra is up by about 4% over Steyer last I saw who is over the Republican by 1-2%.
I may vote for Steyer just to eliminate any chance of a Republican in the General. I don't like the attacks from Steyer's campaign but I also don't like Becerra's backers, CA. Realtors Assoc. and Calif. Chamber of Commerce.
Katie ran on "no corporate donors."

[senseandsensibility]

29. That is good inside baseball info from California

I'm from CA too. It's quite wild here. Nevertheless, I don't think anyone has ever told me who to vote for on DU, so I'm a little confused about that part. I actually appreciate it when outsiders chime in, and I can correct some of the misconceptions that the media likes to spread. But either way, everyone's entitled to their opinion is my motto.

[Sympthsical]

36. And at the end of the day, I'm getting all Democrats anyway

Didn't love my choices in the California primary, but it is what it is.

It's not even a whisper on the wind that the Democratic candidates on both the local and state level aren't going to win.

I voted against my incumbent - great representative whom I've liked, but he's in his 80s with cancer. C'mon man. But he's going to win his primary with a bajillion percent.

Which gives me a lot of time to bother about other, more interesting races.

[ananda]

28. Good advice.

I think I'll try to stay out of those conversations now.

[Nanjeanne]

30. So Im confused - I should only donate money to candidates in my state? Or cani support candidates

in other states with my dollars bu I can’t comment on them on a message board?

I would never tell anyone how they should vote but I certainly thought a message board was for discussion. Sorry to hear I shouldnt look at any others.

Not a great way to build a movement.

[Sympthsical]

34. Federal candidates affect us all

Whoever goes to the U.S. House or Senate is voting on policy that will affect all our lives regardless of what individual state we live in.

It is right and natural to have an opinion on who we think will be best on policy on a national level. It would be odd to not have an opinion on something that will tangibly alter our lives.

Now, at the state level, I do not care. Governors, state senators, your local school board, etc. That's more in-house. Your circus, your monkeys.

But if your prospective Senator is going to be the 51st vote denying millions of people healthcare - yep, I'm gonna have some shit to say.

Too bad if people don't like it.

[ColoringFool]

37. "You won't have anything to do with how they turn out." HAVE YOU ANY IDEA......

WHATSOEVER of the literally INNUMERABLE subjects, topics, actions, behaviors to which your sentence could apply?!

Trump's business deals.

The "250th" slate of performers.

Putin and Ukraine.

The Epstein Files.

The Supreme Court.

Trump's visits to Walter Reed.

Melania's book and movie.

UND SO VEITER.

AND YET WE OPINE. DO YOU?

OR DO YOU COMMENT ONLY ABOUT YOURSELF AND MINNESOTA?

[MineralMan]

38. I was talking about elections and candidates in states other than your own.

None of the things you brought up have anything to do with what I was talking about.

We discuss many things here on DU. I take part in many of those discussions, and have done since 2008,. However, there is only one election in which people from every state vote. That is the one for President and Vice President of the United States. Every other election is held in a state or local area. That's what I'm talking about.

If there is an election for governor in the State of Minnesota, which there is, only voters registered in Minnesota can vote in that election. If you do not live in that state, you have your own elections and candidates to think about.

Please read my original post in this thread again. Your reply has nothing to do with that.

[Cirsium]

51. Hilarious

"If you do not live in that state, you have your own elections and candidates to think about."

I think we can do both. But thanks for your concern.

Hey, wait a minute. Don't you have your own elections and candidates to think about? Why are you pestering people in other states about what they should do? From now on you should only talk about candidates and issues in Minnesota.

The really ironic thing about all of this, is that I strongly suspect you are talking about the controversy relating to the Senate race in Maine, based on your comments elsewhere. What were you doing commenting about a race in Maine?

[Iggo]

39. I'd never tell you who to vote for. I'm in California where lots of people have opinions on who I should vote for.

And I welcome them all.

But you’re not from Maine, so I don’t even have an opinion about your candidate(s). I do have one about one of theirs, but I’m done expressing that opinion.

Maine’s gonna do what they’re gonna do. And I encourage them to vote for the Democratic candidate in the general election.

You do what you’re going to do. But if this little exercise was to scold people who are talking about Maine…well I’m done talking about Maine.

[MineralMan]

41. Well, I lived in California for over 50 years.

When I lived there, I was heavily involved in California politics. I moved to Minnesota in 2004. I've lived here now for 22 years. After I moved, I got involved in the local DFL (Democratic Farmer Labor) party organization. After a couple of elections, I was the precinct chair where I lived. I was a convention delegate several times.

I did not once tell any of my California friends who I thought they should vote for where they lived after that. I wasn't there. When I was there, I did the same thing I did after I moved to Minnesota. I got involved in the politics of my own state and district. I met the candidates. I shared my opinions with them. I helped people register to vote and campaigned for local candidates.

That's what works. I think everyone should get involved in Democratic Party organizations and do everything they can in their own state and district to elect more Democrats. I fail to see any utility in getting wrapped up in elections in places I don't vote. I leave that to those who live there.

Now, I realize that some people live in states where Democratic candidates rarely get elected. So, they ignore their own state's politics. That is a mistake. We have many examples of Democrats defeating Republicans in such states. When that happens, it's a big deal. I recommend that people who live in states and districts where Republicans usually win pay attention and do everything they can to change that. It's hard work. It often fails. But, when it succeeds we gain new representation.

that's my opinion. Everything I write here is my opinion unless I'm linking to a news story.

[yardwork]

40. Nah. That doesn't really work.

If you think about it, that makes no sense.

Congress is made up of senators and representatives from all over the country. The majority party controls every aspect of legislation. We urgently need Democratic majorities in the House and Senate.

Governors also have a lot of power nationally, especially in these times. If MN elects a Republican governor (unlikely I know but still) that's a problem for democracy (small D) because of the way the Republican Party is acting.

[MineralMan]

42. Minnesota has had its share of Republican Governors.

I remember two of them. I worked my ass off to help Democrats replace them. There's always work to do, wherever you live.

If I don't' live somewhere, though, I leave politics to those who do. They know the situation better than I ever could. I just hope they have an active Democratic party organization. Meanwhile, there's stuff happening where I live, at every level of government, right down to the local school board. I can make a difference here. So, that's what I have worked on. I can sometimes donate to candidates in other states, and do, when I think it might help. But that's the extent of my participation. There's always stuff to do locally.

[yardwork]

43. Working locally is the best and I know you do a lot of it.

I think you've pinpointed my real concern: I'm not seeing an effective national Democratic Party apparatus.

That is really bad.

[MineralMan]

44. Well, you're right about that.

I'm not sure, though, that the national party makes all that big a difference, frankly, except in Presidential elections. They tend to ignore everyone except Congressional candidates who are likely to win already. The rest get shrugged off.

But, I don't think they have much influence on Senate and House elections anyhow.

The national party gets none of my money. I don't see the benefit.

I'm doing a lot less than I used to. Getting old sucks.

[yardwork]

45. I'm sorry to read about your health problems.

Growing old is not for the faint of heart.

[MineralMan]

47. Oh, well. It's also not optional.

I'm dealing with it as best I can. My primary care doctor is impressed. I'm doing OK, actually, but won't be running any marathons, either.

[RandySF]

54. I read that Craig and Flanagan are tied in the polls.

[NoRethugFriends]

55. Totally and absolutely disagree. Senators in your state affect me.

My idiot senators (PA) certainly affect you.

[MineralMan]

57. And, yet, nothing I do affects their election or non-election.

So, I focus on my own Senators. We have an open Senate seat to fill this election. Now, that's important to Minnesotans. How much to you, I don't know.

[NoRethugFriends]

58. Of course it matters to me. It's the UNITED STATES senate, not the Minnesota senate

[MineralMan]

61. Well, we do have a state Senate, too.

Do you know who is running in our US Senate race? Democrats? Republicans? Did you know that we still have a primary election, despite each party having already endorsed their candidate for the election.

Do you know anything about the candidates? Do you even want to know anything about the candidates. See, I'm still learning about them. I won't know everything until just before the Primary election in August. Then, I will vote for whomever is the Democrat on the ballot, as I always do.

We have two potential candidates on the Democratic side. One is the former Lt. Governor of the state, Peggy Flanagan. She is of native American ancestry, which bothers the anti-DEA crowd. She also was somewhat at odds with the governor when he was the candidate for Vice President in the last election. They aren't really speaking to each other. The other is Angie Craig, who is currently the House representative from a Southern precinct in the state. She is married to a woman, which affects her attractiveness to many Republicans who might vote for a Democrat. She has one questionable vote from her House term that is disturbing to me and man other Democrats. She voted a couple of times in favor of immigration restrictions that other Democrats rejected. Each has positions on every issue. I have to decide which one gets my vote.

I would never vote for either Republican in the Senate race, so I won't offer any information. You can go look it up.

All four will be on the primary ballot. The winners will appear on the ballot for the general election.

So, what's your advice, if you live outside of Minnesota? Which of the Senate candidates should I vote for in August, and why. I'll wait here for your detailed responses.

See the problem. I know all of the candidates pretty well. Odds are you don't know them at all. So, why on earth would you advise anyone here about voting in the Primary?

That's why I keep my nose out of other state's elections. I have plenty to study right here before I cast my vote in August. Of course, I'll vote for whoever gets the Democratic place on the November ballot. I don't know the candidates in the other states very well, and don't have time to research them all. So, I leave that to people who live in those states.

[OC375]

59. The renewed paradigm is that everyone's business is everyone's business all the time, because it's a small world.

Seems nostalgic.

Personally, this whole "everything is connected so it's my business" angle can be taken to unhelpful extremes, and people seem to be leaning on it more heavily as time goes by and frustration grows.

It's not scalable, productive, or particularly ethical, at some point, is all I'm saying.

[duckworth969]

60. Here! Here!

[AZProgressive]

65. I vote in my local elections

I still pay attention to other races across the country as who is elected can impact policy but there are lots of Democrats that I strongly support that are outside of my state. I like Ilhan Omar as far as Minnesota.