The Daily Digest: Daudt elected new Speaker
Good morning! Stay warm and drive safely.
In Minnesota
GOP State Rep. Kurt Daudt will be the new Speaker of the Minnesota House when it convenes in January while state Rep. Joyce Peppin will be the new Majority Leader after Republicans won back control of the House last week. (MPR News)
But after losing every statewide race for the fourth election running even as Republicans did well nationally, the state GOP is reconsidering its approach. (Star Tribune)
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A look at some of the biggest takeaways from last week's election. (MinnPost)
This week, as MNsure opens enrollment again, state officials are touting system improvements while also cautioning that everything still may not work perfectly — a tricky mix of messages that reflects the high stakes. (Star Tribune)
State Rep. Tony Cornish, R-Vernon Center, says he’s thinking about challenging DFL U.S. Rep. Tim Walz in 2016. (MPR News)
The drawing of Scrabble letters will decide a tied election for the Cook County Board in the far eastern tip of Minnesota's Arrowhead Monday. (MPR News)
Former Gov. Tim Pawlenty has no interest in returning to politics. (Pioneer Press)
#pointergate explained (MPR News)
National Politics
We're at that weird point in the news cycle where the last election is barely a week past and suddenly lots of people want to talk about the next election. Apologies in advance.
Former President George W. Bush is giving even odds about whether his brother, Jeb Bush, will try to run for President. (AP via Pioneer Press)
Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker says, ahem, that governors make better presidents. I wonder what he's trying to say there? (AP via Star Tribune)
President Obama said that he and his White House team had not succeeded in effectively selling the benefits of his policies to the American people, calling it a “failure of politics” that he must change in the final two years of his presidency. (New York Times)
Obama nominated U.S. Attorney Loretta Lynch to replace Eric Holder as Attorney General. (NPR)
Republicans out-performed their poll numbers in race after race last week, raising questions about pro-Democratic bias in this year's election's polls — a major turnaround from the pro-GOP bias in 2012's polls. (USA Today)
Black Republicans were big winners in the midterm elections. (NPR)
Minnesota Congressman Tim Walz is vying to be the top Democrat on the House Veterans Affairs Committee but his opponent has the backing of Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi. (Politico)