MINNEAPOLIS — President Joe Biden dealt challenger Dean Phillips a Super Tuesday defeat in the Minnesota congressman’s home state, while former President Donald Trump beat Nikki Haley in the state’s Republican primary.

Minnesota has 75 Democratic and 39 Republican national convention delegates. But as one of the smaller of 16 states and one territory holding Super Tuesday primaries, Minnesota received little attention — even from Phillips, who represents a congressional district in the Minneapolis suburbs but enjoyed hardly any home-field advantage.

Haley was the only candidate to put in an in-person campaign appearance. Her rally at a Bloomington hotel last week drew several hundred people, but it wasn’t enough for her to catch up to Trump.

For Phillips, the only elected Democrat to challenge Biden in their party’s primary, the results from Minnesota and other Super Tuesday states extended his string of defeats.

“While Democratic Party loyalists are clearly, consistently, and overwhelmingly registering their preference for Joe Biden, it doesn’t alter the reality which compelled me to enter the race in the first place; Donald Trump is increasingly likely to defeat him in November,” Phillips said in a statement. “I’ll be assessing tonight’s results and all available data over the coming days before making a decision about how I can best help prevent that tragedy.”

Among nearly two dozen interviews conducted by The Associated Press over three days with Democratic voters in Phillips’ own district ahead of the primary, the three-term representative got barely a mention. Beating Trump was the most common theme they expressed.

At a public library in suburban Eden Prairie on Tuesday, Molly Menton said she didn’t consider voting for Phillips even though he’s her congressman, saying he’s less qualified than Biden. Menton, a health care executive who leans “pretty progressive,” said her top priorities are nominating liberal judges, gun control and climate change.

Eden Prairie retirees Chuck and Carol Thomas, who formerly worked as creative directors in advertising, also said after voting that they never considered voting for Phillips. Biden has wisdom, experience and a track record of beating Trump, Chuck Thomas said.

The Biden campaign last week sent Doug Emhoff, Vice President Kamala Harris’ husband. He appeared at a fundraiser, visited Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport to highlight the administration’s investments in transportation infrastructure, and paid his respects to three slain first responders in Burnsville.

Trump didn’t visit Minnesota for the primary, but he raised eyebrows during a phone interview with KNSI radio in St. Cloud on Monday when he claimed that he thought he won the state in the 2020 general election, echoing his false claims that he was the rightful winner nationwide.

Trump actually lost Minnesota by more than 7 percentage points to Biden, but he came within 1.5 points of defeating Democrat Hillary Clinton in 2016, and told KNSI he intends to take a “big shot” at winning the state this November. No Republican presidential candidate has carried Minnesota since Richard Nixon in 1972.

Pam Hulstrand, of Eden Prairie, voted on the Republican side — for Haley.

“It’s time for a woman,” Hulstrand said. She said Haley is a new leader with experience and confidence. “The fact that she’s not giving up says a lot about her resiliency,” she said.

Hulstrand, a minister, also said she likes Haley’s conservative stance on “moral issues.” But she also said she’s prepared to vote for Trump in November, if it comes to that.

At Crosspoint Church in the next-door suburb of Bloomington, Craig Brandt said he voted for Trump, “because I think he’s the best hope we have for getting our country back on track.”

Sarah Alfaham, of Bloomington, said she voted “uncommitted” in the Democratic primary, as many anti-war and Muslim activists locally and nationally have urged. She said and doesn’t know for whom she’ll vote in November, except that it won’t be Trump. But she said she’s so disappointed with Biden that she might consider a third-party candidate.

“I believe that the war in Gaza, and the genocide that Israel is committing, is unacceptable,” Alfaham said. “And Joe Biden has not done enough to earn my vote and not done enough to stop the war, stop the massacre.”

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Chicago Bears general manager Ryan Poles and coach Matt Eberflus are working on revamping their coaching staff.

After firing five coaches earlier this month, including offensive coordinator Luke Getsy, the Bears began the offseason seeking at least new offensive and defensive coordinators and position coaches for the quarterbacks, wide receivers and running backs.

On Tuesday, the Bears officially announced the hiring of former Seattle Seahawks offensive coordinator Shane Waldron as their new offensive coordinator. A deal had been reported Monday to be in the works.

“This was a very exhaustive search, but in the end I’m grateful the journey led us to Shane,” Eberflus said in a statement. “He is a great teacher and communicator with a diverse coaching background among some of the game’s most elite head coaches. I look forward to partnering with him as we build out the rest of the staff and get him started here.”

Waldron said in a statement: “I appreciate this opportunity given to me by Coach Eberflus and Ryan Pole. We can’t wait to get to work at a franchise with such a storied history and passionate fan base.”

Here’s how the offensive coordinator hiring process unfolded.

Jan. 18

The Bears are expected to interview former Arizona Cardinals head coach Kliff Kingsbury, ESPN reported.

The rundown: Kingsbury, 44, spent this past season as a senior offensive analyst and quarterbacks coach at USC, where potential No. 1 draft pick Caleb Williams played. The Bears are getting deeper into their evaluations of Williams as they determine whether to draft a quarterback with the No. 1 pick this spring. Williams threw for 3,633 yards with 30 touchdowns and five interceptions in 12 games in 2023.

In four seasons as the Cardinals coach, Kingsbury was 28-37-1. The Cardinals fired him last January following a 4-13 season after the team made the playoffs a year earlier behind quarterback Kyler Murray. Before that, Kingsbury was the head coach for six seasons at Texas Tech, where he coached quarterback Patrick Mahomes.

He also was offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at Texas A&M and Houston. Kingsbury played quarterback at Texas Tech and in the NFL, NFL Europe and CFL.

The Bears are interviewing Los Angeles Rams passing game coordinator and quarterbacks coach Zac Robinson, Sports Illustrated’s Albert Breer reported.

The rundown: Robinson, 37, has been part of Sean McVay’s coaching staff in Los Angeles for the last five seasons and in his current role the last two years. In 2021, Robinson also served as Matthew Stafford’s quarterbacks coach as Stafford matched a career high with 41 touchdown passes and led the Rams to a Super Bowl title.

This season Robinson contributed to a passing offense that ranked in the top 10 in yards and yards per play.

Robinson was a standout quarterback at Oklahoma State and a seventh-round selection by the New England Patriots in 2010. He spent four seasons in the NFL with the Patriots, Seattle Seahawks, Detroit Lions and Cincinnati Bengals.

The Bears have requested an interview with Philadelphia Eagles senior offensive assistant Marcus Brady, ESPN reported.

The rundown: Brady, 44, spent the 2023 season on Nick Sirianni’s Eagles staff after five seasons with the Indianapolis Colts.

He worked on the same Colts coaching staff as Bears coach Matt Eberflus for four years under Frank Reich, though on the opposite side of the ball from Eberflus. With the Colts, Brady rose from assistant quarterbacks coach (2018) to quarterbacks coach (2019-20) and then to offensive coordinator (2021-22) after Sirianni left for the Eagles. The Colts offense was one of the best in the league at running the ball in 2021, but it ranked 27th in total yards per game with 311.6 in 2022.

Brady also spent nine seasons coaching in the Canadian Football League.

Jan. 17

The Bears are interviewing Carolina Panthers offensive coordinator Thomas Brown, The Athletic reported.

The rundown: Brown, 37, completed his first year as the Panthers coordinator after three seasons with the Rams, with whom he won a Super Bowl under McVay.

The Panthers struggled behind rookie quarterback Bryce Young in 2023, averaging a league-worst 265.3 yards per game. With the Rams, Brown coached running backs and then tight ends and had the title of assistant head coach in his last two seasons.

The former Georgia running back was a running backs coach in college for eight seasons, including with Wisconsin, Georgia, South Carolina and Miami, where he also was the offensive coordinator. Brown also is scheduled to interview with the Tennessee Titans for their head coaching position.

Jan. 15

The Bears interviewed former Baltimore Ravens offensive coordinator Greg Roman, NFL Network’s Peter Schrager reported.

The rundown: Roman, 51, is a longtime NFL coach who served as offensive coordinator for the San Francisco 49ers, Buffalo Bills and Ravens. Among his accomplishments is crafting the Ravens offense around dual-threat quarterback Lamar Jackson and helping Jackson to an MVP season in his second year in 2019. The Ravens had the best rushing offense in the league that year.

However, Roman and the Ravens parted after the 2022 season after the offense declined. The Ravens went from averaging 33.2 points in 2019 to 20.6 in 2022.

Jan. 12

The Bears interviewed Seahawks quarterbacks coach Greg Olson, the San Francisco Chronicle reported.

The rundown: Olson, 60, has been a college and NFL quarterbacks coach and offensive coordinator since 1990. He has extensive experience as an NFL offensive coordinator, holding the position with the Lions, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, St. Louis Rams, Oakland and Las Vegas Raiders in separate stints and Jacksonville Jaguars.

He most recently was the Seahawks quarterbacks coach in 2023 and a senior offensive assistant with the Los Angeles Rams in 2022. Olson spent the 2003 season as the Bears quarterbacks coach.

The Bears planned to interview Kentucky offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach Liam Coen, CBS Sports reported.

The rundown: Coen, 38, has one season of NFL offensive coordinator experience with the Rams in 2022, though McVay called the plays. He was an assistant wide receivers coach and assistant quarterbacks coach with the Rams from 2018-20.

Beyond that, Coen has been a college quarterbacks coach and offensive coordinator since 2010 at Brown, Rhode Island, Massachusetts, Maine and most recently Kentucky in 2021 and 2023.

Jan. 11

The Bears planned to interview 49ers passing game coordinator Klint Kubiak, ESPN reported.

The rundown: Kubiak, 36, is in his first season with the 49ers under Kyle Shanahan. Before that, he was the Denver Broncos passing game coordinator and quarterbacks coach in 2022 for Russell Wilson and their QBs coach from 2016-18.

Kubiak, the son of longtime NFL coach Gary Kubiak, also worked for the Minnesota Vikings as offensive coordinator in 2021 and quarterbacks coach from 2019-20, working with Kirk Cousins.

Jan. 10

The Bears requested an interview with Seahawks offensive coordinator Shane Waldron, NFL Network reported.

The rundown: Waldron, 44, was the Seahawks offensive coordinator the last three seasons, helping quarterback Geno Smith to a comeback season in 2022. Before that, he spent four seasons with the Rams as passing game coordinator, quarterbacks coach and tight ends coach under McVay.

He also served as an offensive assistant with the Patriots (2008-09) and Washington (2016) and worked in operations with the Patriots early in his career. He has coached in college, high school and the UFL.

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Bears GM Ryan Poles staying ‘open-minded’ as he evaluates whether to keep Justin Fields or draft a QB at No. 1
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On Tuesday night, Dallas Congressman Colin Allred bested San Antonio state Senator Roland Gutierrez in the Democratic primary contest for the right to challenge U.S. Senator Ted Cruz in November. In what was seen as a two-way race between the two, Allred—always the frontrunner—trounced Gutierrez by a margin of more than 40 points as of late Tuesday. By around 9 p.m., networks called the race for Allred, calculating he’d won the nomination without the need for a May runoff. Allred will now feature prominently in national Democrats’ hopes to hold on to a razor-thin margin in the U.S. Senate this fall.

Allred—a 40-year-old former NFL player and civil rights lawyer in the Obama administration—spent recent months tacking to the right and positioning himself as the moderate establishment candidate. He joined Republicans in a misleading condemnation of President Joe Biden’s supposedly “open borders” policies and even praised the announcement of border wall construction in South Texas, something the president himself had described as pointless but out of his hands to stop. Allred also refused, as the body count soared, to call for a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip.

Gutierrez, a 53-year-old immigration attorney who served more than a decade in the state House before rising to the upper chamber in 2021, had veered in the opposite direction, endorsing Medicare for All, a Gaza ceasefire, and progressive immigration policies. Perhaps more than anything, he pinned his campaign on aggressive gun control measures, beliefs he embraced with passionate intensity after the 2022 Uvalde school shooting that left 21 dead in his district.

But Gutierrez floundered across the state Tuesday, even losing his home Bexar County to Allred by a wide margin. 

To some extent, the writing was on the wall well before Tuesday evening. As of mid-February, Allred had outraised Gutierrez roughly 16-to-1 and boasted an advantage in key endorsements including the blessings of the Texas AFL-CIO and the editorial boards of the state’s major newspapers. Even Gutierrez’s hometown paper, the San Antonio Express-News, went for Allred—citing the congressman’s “temperament and depth of knowledge on the issues”—despite the editorial board expressing almost no significant criticism of Gutierrez. 

In its endorsement, the Houston Chronicle described the choice facing Democratic voters as a chance to “vote with their head or with their heart,” the former referring to Allred and the latter Gutierrez. The board accurately described Allred’s level demeanor as verging into “being bland” and acknowledged of Gutierrez that “It’s refreshing to see some of our own raw anger and frustration in a political candidate.” But the paper, as with other major endorsing bodies and Democratic power-brokers, reasoned that Allred was simply the wiser choice to sway white moderates away from Cruz and, once in the Senate, to get the proverbial things done.

Roland Gutierrez attends a gun control rally at the Texas Capitol in 2022. Gus Bova/Texas Observer

A major piece of Allred’s primary pitch was that he’d already, six years ago, toppled a GOP incumbent. It’s true, of course, but 2018 is a bygone era in Texas politics. That year amounted to what passed for a blue wave in the Lone Star State with O’Rourke’s electric near-victory over Cruz propelling a suite of down-ballot Democratic wins—Allred’s among them. In his congressional district, Allred underperformed O’Rourke that November by four points. And, in the first place, it hadn’t exactly required great courage or insight to target the seat for a Dem pickup: Then-candidate Hillary Clinton had bested Trump in the district by 2 points back in 2016. Nevertheless, Allred notched the victory, and Texas Democrats will now cross their fingers that he can pull off a far more challenging feat this fall. 

Gutierrez’s pitch wasn’t just his progressive policies but his Latino identity. In comments bizarrely construed by the Daily Beast, he’d effectively said that it will be a Latino who one day breaks Texas Dems’ three-decade losing streak. He may have had a point; Hispanic surnames are an asset in Lone Star politics. Time will tell. Early polls showed the two Democrats having similar chances against Cruz—with their odds ranging from quite long to basically even, depending on the survey.

The San Antonian’s defeat also says something about the long tail of the Uvalde tragedy. The families of those lost on May 24, 2022, have had their lives irrevocably transformed. That entire southwest Texas town, really, was convulsed in ways that will be excruciatingly long in fading. In something like concentric circles outward, thousands or maybe millions of Texans who engaged with the horrors of that day will never shake the images they saw, the sounds they heard, the holes that opened in their own chests as they imagined it being one of their own kids.

But the Uvalde tragedy has not translated to the ballot box. In November 2022, GOP Governor Greg Abbott beat O’Rourke, then seeking the governor’s office, despite a coalition of Uvalde families fighting hard for the El Paso Democrat. Last year, the mother of one of the students who perished lost a mayoral bid in Uvalde. And now Gutierrez, probably the sitting official who stuck closest with Uvalde families as they worked to turn their pain into policy change, who battled the hardest for them and put his reputation in the state Senate on the line for the cause, fell short on Tuesday. Now, he’ll return to the stifling confines of Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick’s chamber.

As most everyone knows by now, a Texas Democrat hasn’t won statewide since 1994. Their losing streak is as old as Forrest Gump. In Allred, the party establishment, especially in Washington, has a candidate in their desired mold—a politician on the rise who knows how to tack right and keep the money flowing. He little resembles O’Rourke, whose 2018 campaign was a tour de force of personality, cooked up in the Mountain Time Zone far from the state’s major power centers, unbeholden to party mandarins in Washington. 

But Allred is likely a stronger candidate than the last Democratic U.S. Senate nominee in 2020: National Democrats went out of their way to back M.J. Hegar, whose principal accomplishment was losing a 2018 U.S. House race and who won the 2020 nomination in a runoff—also against a longtime state legislator—only to get walloped by senior Senator John Cornyn. As always, time will tell. 

There is a Buddhist saying, or so I’ve heard: “If you meet the Buddah on the road, kill him.” 

If you meet someone who claims to know what it will take for a Democrat to win statewide in Texas, refrain from violence, but you probably shouldn’t believe them.

WASHINGTON — The biggest night of the primary campaign is half over. So far, there haven’t been any surprises.

President Joe Biden has easily carried all the Democratic contests, winning:

Alabama
Arkansas
Colorado
Iowa
Maine
Massachusetts
North Carolina
Oklahoma
Tennessee
Texas
Virginia
Vermont

Republican front-runner former President Donald Trump clinched:

Alabama
Arkansas
Colorado
Maine
Massachusetts
North Carolina
Oklahoma
Tennessee
Texas
Virginia

Full results will take at least a few more hours. Voting in Alaska doesn’t end until midnight EST.

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Although Biden and Trump are expected to be their party’s nominee, neither will be declared the “presumptive nominee” tonight. Trump won’t have enough delegates until March 12, and Biden will have to wait until March 19.

What is Super Tuesday?

The Super Tuesday primaries are the largest voting day of the year in the United States aside from the November general election.

Voters in 16 states and one territory are choosing presidential nominees. Some states are also deciding who should run for governor, senator or district attorneys.

Party primaries, caucuses or presidential preference votes are being held in Alabama, Alaska, American Samoa, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Iowa, Maine, Massachusetts, Minnesota, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Vermont and Virginia.