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The Daily Digest: campaign money, Iraq

Welcome to the Daily Digest. Watch for new campaign finance reports today. In Washington, all eyes are on Iraq.

Minnesota:

Sen. Al Franken has teamed up with the Minnesota DFL, New Mexico Sen. Tom Udall and the New Mexico Democratic party to raise money for this year's election. Joint fundraising committees are more popular after a recent Supreme Court decision that eliminated overall caps on how much donors can give during an election. (MPR News)

GOP endorsed gubernatorial candidate Jeff Johnson says he raised $90,000 since he won his party's backing two weeks ago. Johnson didn't raise much this year compared to some of his opponents. But he also hadn't spent as much at the end of March when the last reports were released.

Gov. Mark Dayton said the new minimum wage law may need to be tweaked. (Rochester Post-Bulletin)

Medtronic's acquisition of Ireland-based Covidien is part of a larger trend. (MPR News)

State Capitol repairs are "on time and on budget." (Pioneer Press)

GOP Senate hopeful Rep. Jim Abeler is targeting Medicare fraud as a way to set himself apart from others running for the seat. (MPR News)

Washington:

The Obama administration may send nearly 300 troops to Iraq to combat an increasingly violent insurgency there. (AP via MPR News)

The U.S. and Iran may collaborate on efforts to quell the fighting. (The New York Times)

The Koch brothers, who back conservative and free-market candidates with their money, have created a new political action committee aimed at midterm elections. (Politico)