Welcome to a special edition of Hot Dish, the Star Tribune's weekday newsletter on all things Minnesota politics. We're publishing special editions through the weekend ahead of Super Tuesday. You can sign up for daily dispatches straight to your inbox at www.startribune.com/hotdishpolitics.
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Happy Leap Day! Were you hoping for a two-day break from the relentless churn of presidential politics? Too bad! South Carolinians are voting in their Democratic primary as you read this: Here's all the latest from the AP.
Joe Biden is today's main storyline in South Carolina, where his recent rise in polls is setting him up for what could be the start of a comeback — or a last stand. Even a surprisingly strong second by Bernie Sanders in the Palmetto State would probably be seen as hurting Biden's bid to get back into contention nationally.
Then there's Amy Klobuchar, who bugged out of South Carolina earlier than most of her better-polling rivals in favor of a mad dash across various Super Tuesday states. Here's my last dispatch from South Carolina, where Klobuchar looks to be headed for another sixth-place finish.
I've not seen any Super Tuesday polls suggesting Klobuchar's in much better shape than South Carolina anywhere except Minnesota. If you have, email them to me: patrick.condon@startribune.com.
Saturday brings Klobuchar to events in Knoxville, Tenn.; Richmond and Norfolk, Va.; and Charlotte, N.C. She held a fundraiser at a hotel in Nashville last night; according to the pool report, former Gov. Phil Bredesen and Nashville Mayor John Cooper were in attendance.
Klobuchar also made sort of an ... edgy joke at the end. From the pool report:
During her closing, Klobuchar said, "I'm the granddaughter of an iron ore miner, the daughter of a teacher and a newspaperman — " but she started coughing for a few seconds. She tried to talk again but coughed. "I do not have coronavirus," Klobuchar said making audience members laugh. "Way to really bring down my numbers!" Klobuchar restarted the line and was able to finish it without coughing. Local Archbishop Bernard Hebda tells his priests to abstain from voting in the Super Tuesday primary, reports Briana Bierschbach. At issue is the lack of privacy around voter preferences, with party ballot choices transmitted to the state's major parties. "It could be seen as 'partisan' political activity to align oneself with a party and to vote in its primary, which the Church generally discourages clergy from doing for evangelical reasons, more so than tax ones," read Hebda's letter to clergy.
The U.S.-Taliban peace deal aims to withdraw all U.S. troops from Afghanistan within 14 months. AP says it will "allow President Trump to fulfill a key campaign pledge to extract the U.S. from 'endless wars.'"
Torey Van Oot will bring you another Weekend Special tomorrow, as we pivot hard to Super Tuesday. Lots more political coverage in the coming days at StarTribune.com and in our print edition.
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