In July, GOP presidential nominee Mitt Romney had good news to celebrate in Minneosta: he'd cut President Obama's lead in half, according to one poll. But a new SurveyUSA/KSTP poll shows Obama is back on safe ground in the state. The poll surveyed voters Sept. 6-9, right after the Democratic National Convention.

Republican Mitt Romney will begin running TV ads in Minnesota this weekend, with just over a week to go before the election, the Associated Press reports. Recent polls showed President Barack Obama with a solid lead in the state that has not voted for a Republican president since Richard Nixon in 1972.

Presumptive Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney is coming to Minnesota for a fundraising appearance a few days before the Republican National Convention, MPR reports. Donors are being asked to give a minimum of $2,500 to attend an event at the Lafayette Club in Minnetonka Beach. Couples who give $50,000 can attend a private dinner at a private home in Shorewood.

A new Star Tribune Minnesota Poll among 800 likely Minnesota voters shows the presidential race for the state's 10 electoral votes is getting closer, with President Barack Obama drawing 47 percent to Romney's 44 percent. With just over a week before the election, the president's 3-point lead is within the poll's margin of error. In September, Obama held an 8-percentage point lead over his Republican challenger in the Minnesota Poll.

GOP vice presidential hopeful Paul Ryan rallied 6,500 people at the Minneapolis-St. Paul International AIrport on Sunday, trying to steal a Minnesota win for the Romney-Ryan ticket from Democrats, who have long said the state was safe for President Obama. Meanwhile, former President Bill Clinton is expected back in Minnesota Sunday night for an appearance in St. Cloud.

If Mitt Romney is looking for a vice-presidential nominee that might also bring along votes from their home state, Tim Pawlenty might be a poor choice. So says the New York Times, which does a deep analysis on what it would actually take for Minnesota to go red in a presidential election for the first time since 1972. The key -- according to Times writer Michah Cohen -- is Blue Earth County.

President Barack Obama has won a second term as president of the United States, and Minnesota was among the states he won. In his speech well after midnight, Obama thanked Vice President Joe Biden, his family, and the greatest campaign team and volunteers "in the history of politics."

After notching five of the 16 major party U.S. House nominations in 2010 in Minnesota, women may secure only two such slots across the state's eight districts this November, the University of Minnesota's Eric Ostermeier reports on his political news site Smart Politics.