Minnesota Poll: Doug Wardlow leads Keith Ellison in attorney general's race

[Eric J in MN]

Source: Minneapolis Star Tribune

Republican Doug Wardlow has pulled ahead of Democrat U.S. Rep. Keith Ellison in the race for Minnesota attorney general, a Star Tribune/MPR News Minnesota Poll found.

Wardlow now leads by 7 percentage points, at 43 percent to 36 percent for Ellison, just a month after the Democrat held a 5-point edge in a September Minnesota Poll. The switch follows a turbulent period for the Ellison campaign, as he has navigated the political fallout of his former girlfriend's allegation that he abused her in 2016, a claim he denies.

About one in six poll participants said they had not made up their minds about who to support. Republicans appear to be falling in line behind Wardlow, but an increasing number of Democrats were undecided about who to back compared to September.

Read more: http://www.startribune.com/minnesota-poll-doug-wardlow-leads-keith-ellison-in-attorney-general-s-race/498264151/

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Karen Monahan's accusation is that the morning after she broke up with Keith Ellison, he unsuccessfully tried to pull her out of bed by her feet to get her to move out. She stayed in bed at that time, and she stayed in his house for another two months.

Ellison denies doing that, and an investigation for the DFL found the accusation "unsubstantiated."

Keith Ellison (D) is pro-choice.

Doug Wardlow (R) said he'll prosecute abortion clinics for supposed "fetal body trafficking."

It doesn't advance women's rights for Wardlow to win. The group TakeAction MN used feminist language about dismantling-the-patriarchy in its endorsement of Keith Ellison, praising him for the conversations he had with them about gender justice. https://www.takeactionminnesota.org/blog/post/keith-ellison-for-attorney-general/

[LovingA2andMI]

1. Hate for the Dems in MN to Lose This....

However, outside of Monahan's accusation, Keith Ellison has serious issues, thus this is not so much of a surprise.

[Eric J in MN]

4. I'm not sure what you mean.

Keith Ellison supports progressive issues. Gay rights, Medicare-for-All, marijuana legalization, labor unions, etc.

If you're thinking of Farrakhan, Ellison denounced him in 2006.

[7962]

19. The Washington Post gave that a "4 Pinocchios"

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/fact-checker/wp/2018/03/09/dnc-vice-chair-keith-ellison-and-louis-farrakhan-no-relationship/?utm_term=.e749b1e5612f

[Eric J in MN]

27. I'm not saying they never had a relationship, just that Ellison denounced Farrakhan. NT

NT

[marylandblue]

5. I am curious, what are his issues? I thought people liked him.

[brush]

7. What serious issues, a jealous ex making unsubstantiated claims of abuse?

Don't drop that turd here without explaining what you mean. He was just up in the polls until a hate radio friend of his accuser went 24/7 with the false allegations.

What issues are you talking about?

[7962]

20. Well, she told her therapist and a friend at the time it supposedly happened.

Are we going to treat her claim as equally valid as any other?
I do NOT believe her video exists. You don't just "lose" something like that.

[brush]

24. I believe you meant to post to another poster as you're asking the same questions...

as me. She won't produce the alleged video she said show him pulling her out of bed so where are the issues the poster is claiming?

[ck4829]

10. Such as?

[question everything]

11. Yup. Not white, not Christian

For rural Minnesota this is unacceptable.

[LovingA2andMI]

12. Not it. At All.

It's What was seen from our eyes at an event when an Activist confronted him and his reaction to that was beyond the pale.

[ck4829]

13. That's awfully vague

An event. Some activist did something. Some reaction. It was horrible.

[LovingA2andMI]

16. It Happened...

That is what matters. Meanwhile, it is up to the people of MN if they elect Ellison to the AG spot or not on November 6, 2018.

[ck4829]

17. Don't even know what "it" is

Is Lord Voldemort involved or something?

[brush]

25. Stop making vague accusations without explanation. Tell us exactly what happened.

If you can't do that don't post vague charges.

[LanternWaste]

35. It certainly allegedly happened.

Although, cowering behind implication is worthy of middle school... but I'm sure you're not doing that.

"Meanwhile, it is up to the people of MN if they elect Ellison to the AG spot or not on November 6, 2018."
Has anyone argued otherwise?

[7962]

21. Please explain to the rest of us what happened.

And was there a story about the incident?

[ck4829]

2. A big "thank you" needs to go to all the people who sided against Ellison.

[Eric J in MN]

3. Silence had been a bigger problem.

Some local groups have re-affirmed their support of Keith Ellison, but national groups have generally been silent.

My list of groups and individuals who re-affirmed their support:
https://ericjaffa.000webhostapp.com/KeithEllisonSupporters.htm

[brush]

8. State you reasons why on a Democratic board you post this anti-Dem position.

[ck4829]

9. Sarcasm, a sarcastic thank you

[brush]

14. You forgot the sarcasm gif

...the word sarcasm sandwiched between two colons. Doesn't work in the headline space though.

[ck4829]

15. No harm, no foul

[pennylane100]

6. Are we sure the issues are real.

That would certainly be a problem, but if the bigger problem may be just how far right is his opponent? I have not been following the race closely but sadly, for any victims, I think Ellison would be preferable to a loose cannon wingnut in charge of the state's justice system.

[Eric J in MN]

28. Doug Wardlow (R) is very far right. Anti-abortion. Anti-voting rights.

Wardlow wants to prosecute abortion clinics for "fetal body trafficking."

And he wants to prosecute illegal voting in a way which will make Republican candidates win "for decades to come."

[pennylane100]

37. Wow that is a tough one.

I am not sure how serious the allegation are against him but we cannot let the wingnut take office. I read that she is claiming emotional abuse. Not sure what that entails but, even so, I have to hope that Ellison win's only because the alternative is an absolute nightmare. However, I do feel sorry for her if she is telling the truth, and the emotional abuse was bad.

[saidsimplesimon]

18. Bad timing for Keith and Minnesota

Why didn't anyone on the Ellison team put this accusation to bed before he ran for office?

[Eric J in MN]

30. Keith Ellison says that on the morning of August 26, 2016

Last edited Tue Oct 23, 2018, 04:07 PM - Edit history (1)

...which was the morning after he broke up with Karen Monahan, he left the house while Monahan was still sleeping.

She claims that morning he shouted at her to move out and tried to pull her out of bed.

If he's telling the truth, it's difficult to prove.

If she's telling the truth, then she can supposedly prove it with a video she made at the time. But she won't show the alleged video to anyone.

[GatoGordo]

31. Who do we believe? The Democrat, or the woman?

Either we believe women when they make a claim like this, or we don't.

I sorry, but their isn't "shades of gray" only when it comes to Democrats.

[Eric J in MN]

33. If I were certain that Keith Ellison

...tried to get Karen Monahan to move out after they broke up by trying unsuccessfully to pull her out of bed by her feet, then it would lower my opinion of him.

But I'd still vote for him. For clean air and water. For abortion rights. For labor unions.

To stop Doug Wardlow (R):
https://www.realdougwardlow.com/

[marylandblue]

36. Claims should be investigated

There was no rush to judgement as with Franken and Kavanaugh. This has been going on for six weeks. This was investigated by the Democratic Party, they found nothing. Reporters investigated, they found nothing. There is no police report. There is only one other accusation of domestic violence and that one doesn't appear credible either.

She destroyed her own credibility by claiming there is a video but refusing to show it, even privately to a reporter or the police.

[geardaddy]

22. Doug Wardlow is an evangelical creep who has worked with the hate group...

Alliance Defending Freedom

That is all you need to know about that creep.

[Bengus81]

23. Oh...I belive she was pulled by the feet but Ellison didn't do the pulling.....sound familiar???

[brush]

26. If she has the video just show it. Otherwise it's just unsubstantiated nothingness.

[brooklynite]

29. From what I've been told, MN is more purple than blue...

A Berniecrat flavor of Democrat may not play as well in a Statewide race.

All other Statewide candidates are comfortably ahead.

[GatoGordo]

32. I live in the first district (southern Minnesota)

Klobuchar is a lock. But everything else isn't as comfortable as the polls suggest.

I have had a chance to talk to a couple of young people about if/how they would vote. While there are MANY young Democrats who are fanatical about getting out the vote, so many more are either apathetic or disillusioned enough to vote for one of the "make marijuana legal" parties on the ballot.

Outside of the Iron Range and the urban core of Minneapolis/St Paul, Minnesota gets purple, then red. If I remember correctly, the county I am in (Olmsted, with Rochester as the 3rd biggest city in MN) was won by Hillary by only 600 votes.

We can't afford to be complacent. I fear another "Hillary in a LANDSLIDE!" moment. The local pollster said that they are having a hard time getting anyone to admit they are voting for a Republican, but a look at the last election (county map of Minnesota) was an eye opener. So much for that comfortable lead...

[Eric J in MN]

34. The Legalize Cannabis candidate for MN AG endorsed Keith Ellison.

Please tell people planning to vote for the former that. http://www.startribune.com/legal-marijuana-now-candidate-endorses-keith-ellison-for-attorney-general/497572521/

[GatoGordo]

38. The point is that the DFL is losing touch with its roots

I spent yesterday, from 4pm until 10pm in a truck waiting to unload corn at the local elevator. When you are waiting in a queue, you have a chance to talk to some of the other guys waiting in line. Most are several generations into farming. (I am not a farmer, but I grew up on one)

These guys don't give the least sh*t about cannabis, unless it becomes a cash crop that is profitable. Every farmer I know doesn't care if their corn goes into a gas tank or a bourbon bottle or a can of creamed corn. They care that they can sell it. The reason that Minnesota is so red outside of the Iron Range and urban core is because the DFL has forgot about the FARMER in the DEMOCRATIC FARMER LABOR party.

A few years ago, the local DFL sent down some party guy to talk to farmers about their issues during the winter (mostly down time) at a local cafe in Spring Valley. While he was devoted to the DFL, he couldn't tell these guys why they should vote for the DFL. These guys don't give a flying f*ck about abortion, the civil rights of the LGBT community or "creeping fascism". They didn't want another stack of forms to fill out for another government subsidy or program. They wanted to know what the DFL was going to do about getting their product to the markets. All this kid could do was basically tell them, "We will screw you over less than the Republicans".

I am a lifelong Democrat. I don't see that ever changing. But if the Democratic Party wants to win over these rural guys, they are going to have to do better than sending in some guy in skinny jeans to tell them that the DFL is going to tax the shit out of them when it comes time to sell their operation to their kids.

I don't want to pee in the soup, but thats the truth. They are tired of having smoke blown up their ass by politicians of every stripe who just tell them what they want to hear.