Tom Emmer greeting supporters Tuesday night with running mate Annette Meeks, left, and wife Jacquie. Photo by Bill Kelley. One campaign insider identified a few tactical bungles that, if contained, could have resulted in a higher comfort level today. The tip-credit brouhaha gets cited as one that lingered way too long before Emmer was forced to back-pedal. Emmer’s suggestion that servers make six-figure incomes and that their employers should be allowed to drop their hourly wages accordingly drew sneers even though Minnesota is only one of seven states that doesn’t have some kind of tax adjustment like this on the books. The second vote-costing move involved Gov. Tim Pawlenty’s refusal to take federal money for state health care costs. Emmer agreed with that position. Politicos and medical executives say that in Rochester, home of the Mayo Clinic, there was a price to pay. Pawlenty won the district by a 17-point margin in 2006; Emmer took it only by 8 points. Rochester is too critical an area for Republicans not have a commanding lead. - Assessing the Emmer campaign and other developments, by Cyndy Brucato
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Tom Emmer greeting supporters Tuesday night with running mate Annette Meeks, left, and wife Jacquie. Photo by Bill Kelley.

One campaign insider identified a few tactical bungles that, if contained, could have resulted in a higher comfort level today.

The tip-credit brouhaha gets cited as one that lingered way too long before Emmer was forced to back-pedal. Emmer’s suggestion that servers make six-figure incomes and that their employers should be allowed to drop their hourly wages accordingly drew sneers even though Minnesota is only one of seven states that doesn’t have some kind of tax adjustment like this on the books.

The second vote-costing move involved Gov. Tim Pawlenty’s refusal to take federal money for state health care costs. Emmer agreed with that position. Politicos and medical executives say that in Rochester, home of the Mayo Clinic, there was a price to pay. Pawlenty won the district by a 17-point margin in 2006; Emmer took it only by 8 points. Rochester is too critical an area for Republicans not have a commanding lead.

- Assessing the Emmer campaign and other developments, by Cyndy Brucato

Source: minnpost.com