I spoke to the Star Tribune about the current fundraising position of the Republican Party of Minnesota. I’ve been a critic of the Republican Party of Minnesota’s operations, and I was quoted in this story saying the party needed to raise money. Having nearly $200K in its federal account is precisely what the party needs to be doing. This is a good sign and an indication of a focused party operation.

The Republican Party of Minnesota was in rough financial shape nearly halfway through the year, having about $54 in its federal campaign account and about $336,000 in debt at the end of May.

The low cash balance raised eyebrows and alarm among state GOP activists who feared the party wasn’t rebounding from being swept by Democrats in last year’s election.

But the party’s top leader says fundraising has picked up now that Republicans can point to the results of the recent legislative session and make the argument that Democrats overreached. A financial report filed with the Federal Election Commission on Thursday showed the Minnesota GOP had close to $200,000 in its federal campaign account at the end of June — along with about $361,000 in debt.

“It has improved markedly since people have looked at the results of the last legislative session,” Minnesota GOP Chair David Hann said of the party’s fundraising. “[Democrats] said they were going to return the surplus. They said they were going to cut taxes. … None of it got done.”

The GOP, which hasn’t won a statewide race since 2006, will need all the cash it can get as it heads into a presidential election year in which U.S. Democratic Sen. Amy Klobuchar’s seat and control of the state House of Representatives will also be up for grabs. Its counterpart, the Minnesota DFL Party, reported having about $781,000 in its federal campaign account at the end of June and no debt.

“The next few months for the Republican Party in Minnesota … are going to be the most important that they have in front of them,” said Michael Brodkorb, former deputy chair of the Minnesota GOP. “They have to raise money. They have to figure out their direction.”

Hann said the party’s low cash balance wasn’t as bleak as it looked. Political parties raise money so they can spend it, not hold onto it in their accounts, and that’s what the state GOP has been doing to set its candidates up for success next year, he said.

Click here to read the complete story from Star Tribune.