Good morning. The news cycle is just odd.

Congratulations, we've made it to Friday. But don't unplug just yet. "Politics Friday" returns to MPR News today at noon — at the end of a week that saw some notable activity in the race for Minnesota governor. Precinct caucuses gave us a glimpse at which candidates are finding support and which ones might be having trouble connecting with voters. We also got a look at some fundraising reports that shed light on campaign strength nine months before the 2026 election. Based on vote totals, at least 18,289 Republicans went to their area caucuses. That's about on par with the number who went to the party caucuses in 2022 and shy of the Republican high-water mark set in 2010 for a mid-term election year. The DFL has not released a detailed vote count and hasn't explained a reason for withholding it. Without providing that data, the party estimates turnout topped 30,000. In the first Trump midterm in 2018, there were about 34,000 Democrats who went to a caucus.

Minnesota veterans commissioned a statue that reads "Prosecute ICE" to oppose the Trump administration's immigration operations but it was promptly destroyed by a man who took part in the Jan. 6, 2021, storming of the U.S. Capitol.  Several veterans stood on the Minnesota Capitol steps to voice their concern over Operation Metro Surge earlier in the day. They urged members of Congress to cut funding to the Department of Homeland Security. Beside them was a large "Prosecute ICE” ice sculpture letters spelled out in single letters. "As a United States Marine I swore an oath to the Constitution, not a political party, not an agency, the Constitution,” veteran Peter McKenzie said. “Peaceful protest is not extremism. It is a moral obligation when power stops policing itself, it is how we rouse the conscience of the nation before injustice becomes normalized." The group says it supports state legislation that would allow people improperly detained by federal agents to sue over potential rights violations. Within hours, several letters had been kicked over. Jake Lang, a man pardoned after participating in the insurrection at the U.S. Capitol. Lang, of Florida, posted video to social media showing him taking down several letters in the display to spell out “Pro ICE.” He said he’d been arrested on a felony charge.

We went through some of the fundraising totals in the big races earlier in the week, but there is a lot to mine in this batch of 2025 reports.  When we have time, we’ll do some of that mining. Some observations: There are only a dozen political party units or groups that entered the year with seven-figure account balances. This year will finish with many more that raised and spent that much. Some groups purposely defer fundraising until Jan. 1 or later because there’s a strategic advantage in holding back. The next reports aren’t due until late July. So about the dozen sitting on $1 million or more, five are parties or party caucuses and three are DFL-associated. State Senate Republicans are the most flush among GOP entities with $2.37 million in reserve to start the year; that’s not far behind the $2.89 million for Senate DFLers. Other regular power players already stocked up: the Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee; Education Minnesota, which primarily aligns with Democrats; Advance Minnesota, a GOP-tied group; Everytown Demand a Seat PAC, a backer of candidates who support gun restrictions.

Cash on hand is key for lawmakers gearing up for tough legislative campaigns. Only five campaigns entered 2026 with $100,000 or more piled up for use in the election year. They were: 

• DFL state Sen. Grant Hauschild of Hermantown ($218,771)

• Republican Sen. Jordan Rasmusson of Fergus Falls ($211,201), whose biggest concern might be a primary challenger

• Republican Sen. Jim Abeler of Anoka ($126,459)

• DFL Sen. Ron Latz of St. Louis Park ($107,604), who could face a primary race 

• DFL candidate Rick Olson of Prior Lake ($103,000), who is using personal money as he vies for an open seat.