by Tony Petrangelo

Feb 2, 2014, 10:00 AM

The Weekly Wrap 2-2

♣ End of the year fundraising numbers are in for Minnesota’s eighth congressional district:

Nolan, a Democrat, had $298,000 in the bank at the end of December after raising less than $145,000 during the last three months of 2013, according to a Friday filing with the Federal Elections Commission. Mills reported $305,000 on hand, and he outraised Nolan for the second straight quarter.

It’s probably worth noting that in 2012 Rick Nolan raised less than both his main primary opponent, Tarryl Clark, and his general election opponent former Congressman Chip Cravaack. In fact, Tarryl Clark raised almost as much as Rick Nolan in total, and she was no longer a candidate after the primary. Chip Cravaack raised over $1 million dollars more than Rick Nolan, and Nolan still won by nine points.

♣ Mark Dayton announced his fundraising numbers for the year:

DFL Gov. Mark Dayton’s re-election campaign announced today that it raised more than $1 million in 2013.

Dayton, who is running for a second four-year term, reported that his cash on hand topped $772,000.

Also, another one of the Republicans vying to face Dayton in November announced his take:

Former Republican state Rep. Marty Seifert announced today that his campaign for governor raised more than $150,000 in the final five weeks of 2013.

Seifert, who announced his candidacy in late November, ended the year with $138,400 in the bank.

♣ State Senator Katie Sieben announced that she will not be running for Lt. Governor this year:

“There is more work to do to ensure that our economic recovery reaches every Minnesotan,” the Cottage Grove DFLer said in a statement. “As Assistant Majority Leader, I will work closely with the governor and fellow members of the Legislature on economic priorities like raising the minimum wage and job creation.”

♣ And shortly after that announcement Governor Dayton said he will make his Lt. Governor selection known next week:

Gov. Mark Dayton said Friday evening that he would announce his lieutenant governor pick for his re-election bid early next week.

There haven’t been that many names floating around, but Tony Sertich is a name that keeps popping up. However I would be shocked if he was the eventual selection. Every single Lt. Governor in the state of Minnesota since 1983 has been a woman and I doubt Dayton will be the one to buck that trend. I also don’t see why Sertich would want to run for the position even if he was asked. It’s not like Lt. Governor is a stepping stone to bigger and better things.

I’ve said this before, but I suspect that the selection will be a woman, and will be a woman who doesn’t have political aspirations beyond the office of Lt. Governor.

♣ Someone who did announce their Lt. Governor pick this week was one Dave Thompson:

Republican Sen. Dave Thompson picked fellow state Sen. Michelle Benson to join him as his gubernatorial running mate, they announced on Thursday.

“I told Dave months before I announced that I would do anything I could to help him win. I didn’t realize how seriously he was going to take that promise,” Benson said.

♣ The DFL filed a campaign finance complaint against the Republican party earlier in the week:

For each independent expenditure included in its Year-End Report, the Republican Party disclosed the amount paid for ‘Printing and Photocopying – Political Mail’ but did not disclose the amount paid for the postage to deliver the ‘political mail’ to voters’ homes. Instead, the Republican Party of Minnesota reported $144,100 of postage expenses between August 24, 2012 and October 31, 2012 as general expenditures.

Unlike the complaint that Republicans filed against the DFL, and won, this is not a complaint about doing things that they shouldn’t be doing. Rather, this is a complaint about not filling out the paperwork correctly.