Minn. Democrat seeks to ally 6 GOP House members

Published 1:03 pm Tuesday, July 12, 2011

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — The top Democrat in the Minnesota House is calling for six House Republicans to cross party lines to support Gov. Mark Dayton’s proposal for new income taxes and end a 12-day-old government shutdown.

House Minority Leader Paul Thissen held a news conference outside the state Capitol Tuesday with six empty folding chairs, saying he and members of his caucus have reached out to Republican lawmakers. He declined to identify any of the Republicans.

Republicans have remained united against Dayton’s proposal to raise income taxes on the highest earners.

Dayton was in St. Cloud on Tuesday, holding a discussion of the budget at a high school.

The Democratic governor plans to travel to southern Minnesota on Wednesday and Moorhead on Friday.