Tag: straw poll

DFL to Hold ‘Bean Ballot’ Presidential Straw Poll at State Fair

SAINT PAUL, MINNESOTA – This year at the Minnesota State Fair, the Democratic-Farmer-Labor (DFL) Party booth will feature a ‘bean ballot’ presidential straw poll where Minnesotans can use Minnesota-grown soybeans to vote for their favorite Democratic presidential primary candidate.

“We have the most diverse field of candidates ever assembled running for the Democratic Presidential nomination which has led to record enthusiasm from people throughout Minnesota,” said DFL Chairman Ken Martin. “As the unofficial kick-off to the political season, I am excited that Minnesotans will be able to indicate their preference by casting a presidential primary bean ballot at the DFL’s State Fair booth.”

The soybeans which will be used to cast votes in the DFL’s bean ballot straw poll were donated to the Minnesota DFL by Tim Velde, a farmer from Hanley Falls and member of the Minnesota Farmers Union.

“The DFL is using Minnesota-grown soybeans for our presidential straw poll to stand in solidarity with the farmers across our state who are suffering due to Trump’s disastrous trade war,” added Martin. “Soybean farmers are the backbone of Minnesota’s agricultural economy, and soybean exports have taken a massive hit as a result of President Trump’s horrible trade policies. The Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party will always be a voice for Minnesota farmers, and right now our farmers deserve better than what they are getting from Trump.”

GOP’s Jeff Johnson, DFL’s Tim Walz get wins in tests at Minnesota caucus meetings

The following article by J. Patrick Coolican was posted on the StarTribune website February 7, 2018:

Party activists weighed in for the first time on the governor’s race in a busy year for state politics.

Stefan Peterson asked a DFL precinct caucus meeting at Eden Prairie High School for a show of hands Tuesday night on who would be willing to serve as delegates to the next party convention. Credit: Glen Stubbe, Star Tribune

Republican Jeff Johnson and DFLer Tim Walz scored victories Tuesday with party activists who weighed in for the first time in this year’s governor’s race, as Minnesotans by the thousands turned out at precinct caucuses that start the march toward one of the most consequential state elections in years.

Walz, a U.S. congressman from Mankato, was leading Tuesday night by a commanding margin in the nonbinding straw poll of DFL voters. Johnson, the Hennepin County Commission from Plymouth, was winning the GOP straw poll with an even bigger margin, with more than two out of five Republicans favoring him. Continue reading “GOP’s Jeff Johnson, DFL’s Tim Walz get wins in tests at Minnesota caucus meetings”