By J. Patrick Coolican | Editor-in-chief
Good morning, Reformers.
Bad jobs report, via Bloomberg gift link.
Bad news: Todd Blanche’s nomination for attorney general seemed like it was imperiled, with Sen. Lisa Murkowski a ‘nay’ — she must have been among the few people who read my column! — but now Sen. Bill Cassidy says he’s a ‘yay,’ so that’s enough votes to confirm.
Tough to poll primaries, so grain of salt, but KSTP’s final poll is showing Mike Lindell with a lead in the race for the GOP nomination for governor, and Rep. Angie Craig and Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan basically tied.
Here’s some of what Craig has going for her, aside from her cash advantage and work ethic: She’s ahead among voters over 50, and the median age of Democratic primary voters nationwide is 55, a pollster told me recently. The last time we had a competitive statewide Democratic primary was the three-way 2018 governor’s race. The two perceived moderate candidates — Lori Swanson and Tim Walz — got 67% of the total votes. The DFL-endorsed and more progressive candidate Erin Murphy got the remaining one-third. This would seem to bode well for Craig, who is running in the moderate lane.
Here’s some of what Flanagan has going for her, aside from her statewide name recognition and political talent: A lot has happened since 2018. A bunch of GenZers have joined the electorate, and she’s winning younger voters in the poll. George Floyd’s murder and Operation Metro Surge — remember Craig’s Laken Riley vote — have energized progressive activists. The traumatic Trump years and the enfeebled response of the Democratic establishment have been good for the Sanders wing of the party.
If you are out there volunteering for campaigns, good luck and thanks for doing important civic engagement.
Important journalism in the Reformer this morning:
ICE agents search the passenger of a truck as they arrest both him and the driver during a traffic stop on Feb. 11, 2026 in Robbinsdale, Minnesota. (Photo by Nicole Neri/Minnesota Reformer)
By Madison McVan
Dozens of people were detained by immigration authorities during Operation Metro Surge in Minnesota, despite having permission to live and work in the United States because they were victims of a crime and reported it to the police.
They include a man who survived a shooting in 2019 that took him out of work for six months and left him permanently disabled. Another was stabbed in the leg during a 2016 robbery in Minneapolis. Others survived human trafficking, felony assaults and armed robberies.
The Reformer analyzed more than 1,100 habeas corpus petitions — federal lawsuits challenging a person’s detention — filed in Minnesota between December and mid-March and identified at least 75 people who were detained by immigration agencies despite having been granted work permits and deportation protections allowed to crime victims.
Great reporting from Madi!
By Max Nesterak
Independent journalist Georgia Fort is asking a judge to dismiss the federal charges brought against her after she livestreamed a protest inside a St. Paul church, arguing the prosecution violates her First Amendment rights and accusing the Justice Department of “vindictive prosecution.”
In three motions filed on Thursday, Fort’s attorneys asked a judge to dismiss the charges, arguing that Fort’s actions are protected by the First Amendment; that prosecutors failed to allege any facts that constitute a crime; and that the government has gone to extreme lengths and “manipulated the law” to target her in an illegal act of “vindictive prosecution.”
Lots of new stuff from Max in this story about the ongoing attack on the free press.
By J. Patrick Coolican
Who’s ready to cut the state budget in half?
It’s as cray as you knew it would be, but to Lindell’s credit, it’s quite detailed and even uses some real data.
We’ll do a deeper analysis if he wins Tuesday.
IN OTHER NEWS
Investigation of the HCMC mess | Star Tribune gift link
OH BY THE WAY
I’ve watched aghast as the internet has unearthed Francesca Hong’s antipathy toward seemingly every beloved holiday but especially Thanksgiving. Hong, the democratic socialist who is the favorite to be the Democratic nominee for governor of Wisconsin, gave elliptical, unsatisfactory answers when asked about it, and the same with her past views on police abolition. The Republican candidate Tom Tiffany is a Freedom Caucus 2020 election denier, and losing this battleground state ahead of the 2028 election would be catastrophic, especially as Wisconsin Democrats are turning things around after their lost decade.
So I read with interest this piece in Vox (gift link) about the debate on the left about departing from what they call “Woke 1.0.” The basic idea: Be better at politics. Follow the lead of New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, who left behind defunding the police, and while he continues to pursue his quasi-socialist agenda, he also talks — with a radiant smile — about filling potholes and making government more efficient, which are good things in and of themselves while also being good politics.
Sen. Bernie Sanders said in a recent interview that he won’t endorse Hong and that “No serious person that I know who is running for office believes in quote-unquote defunding the police.”
Michelle Goldberg is also worth reading about the left’s theory of politics, and the dangers of certainty. As she writes, the Michigan Senate race will be a key test.
New Mastersbounds for your weekend.
Have a great weekend! JPC
Thanks for reading Daily Reformer. Did you know our weekend digest is also free? Sign up here. And if you enjoyed today’s edition, please forward to a friend. Increasing our readership helps us cover more news.