Keeping the AG office in DFL hands is not the goal. Keeping it out of the hands of Doug Wardlow is the goal. That is what the Ellison necessity is all about.
If Mohanhan has a video and drops it as an October surprise for whatever motives apply, vote Ellison anyway. Take advantage of early voting and be free of any cause to pay any attention to the soon to be ceaseless political propaganda sound-bite ads. Protect your head that way.
Wardlow is a worry because he appears to have an agenda that he declines to lay out in his campaigning, one of Dominionism as strong as that of Ted Cruz - being Ted without the swagger and offending demeanor.
Ted at heart. Better manners.
Surely such a view might be wrong. The problem is the likelihood it is not wrong is close to 100%, i.e., as spot-on correct as one can guess about the future.
It would be best if Ellison had invested more care in his personal life, whatever the video situation may turn out to show or not show. But the urgency is great because Ellison's candidacy is the only thing between Wardlow and the AG office, with the entire situation being unfortunate.
All of that has been written here before. There is no Chicken Little sky falling belief to suggest if Wardlow were somehow to win the seat. In time he could be voted out. Or he might prove capable beyond expectations. But the truth seems to be as Timmer wrote it back in 2011, and there is little else to add.
Use of a catch-the-fire logo on the Wardlow website is something of an insult to the majority of voters who need to know what it stands for and hence what Wardlow himself stands for.
The simplest way to characterize that, is to note that Ted Cruz used a comparable catch-the-fire logo in running in 2016, while father Rafael Cruz preaches that stuff.
Just as a nation rejected Ted, a state can reject Wardlow.
Back to Ellison: Not having had a video produced the early voting here is strongly pro-Ellison; and should a video surface at an awkward time the early vote will also ring the not-Wardlow bell here too; so it's win-win with the hope others weigh the situation identically.
Before Mohanhan had her adult son spring the thing enthusiasm here was strongest for Ellison because of his policy being progressive and his record matching the policy. Not vanilla middle of the road stuff as with Klobuchar, Smith, and Walz. After Tina Liebling failed to generate sufficient support and folded early, Erin Murphy, having about the same policy belief set as Liebling, became the favored candidate here, with the endorsement being a cheerful outcome showing parallel thinking.
When the primary voting was done, Walz stood as the candidate and he clearly has integrity and experience and policy positions more progressive than Johnson can envision; and Walz would make a fine governor.
The lightweight Republican Senate challengers are a lock-down cause to vote for the two incumbents to secure at least the middle of the road and not any abrupt right turn nonsense.
The GOP money dump is in CD3. Which is happening because Paulsen has nothing to recommend him based on time in office and voting the Trump-Pence-Ryan party line without waiver. So watch how the steady tide of hostile sound-bite attack upon Dean Phillips will unfold.
Necessary debunking of the worse of the present CD3 mud-slinging GOP propaganda has been done by Channel KARE 11, in fine fashion - this link.
Seeing how the half-truth lying shakes out per the KARE 11 debunking should anger many voters who want the nutshell version of truth and not lies to help their voting. May many CD3 voters be justly turned off by the GOP stuff, rather than believing the misguiding junk-ads of those afraid of losing the seat to the better candidate.
Similarly, once CD2 voters accept Angie Craig is in a stable loving lesbian marriage with children, they can then look beyond any bias they may have over that and see Craig is intelligent and well motivated and not the posturing talk-radio jackass presently occupying the seat. Craig should win by a good but not resounding margin.
The Iron Range will vote, we have no idea how and early polling seems absent.
CD1 was the Walz seat with a Walz-like DFL candidate there.
My CD6 expectation - where I live and vote - Emmer takes it without the GOP having to spend much mud-slinging money there, with Emmer better over two years than I ever would have expected. CD4 and CD5 are not really in play, going DFL with a likelihood comparable to Emmer in CD6. Collin Peterson will win, and he does vote with Democrats in House organizing matters.
BOTTOM LINE: The Republicans are really scared in CD3, and the mud-slinging will be as incessant as it is false.
BOTTOM LINE: The Ellison necessity - is necessary. Wardlow is scary.