When I read Cracks Appearing in Democrat Coalition over at Powerline, my first thought was OMG,  she's still alive!   Phyllis Kahn was perhaps one the most vocal members of the Minnesota House of Representatives when I was an intern there is 1974.  Her district includes the main campus of the University of Minnesota and the residential areas to the north and south of campus with an extension up the shore of the Mississippi River to Kahn's home on historic Nicollet Island. Kahn has alwasy been foolish in many of her political positions but she is no dummy.  She holds a B.A. in physics from Cornell and a PhD in Biophysics from Yale. 

John Hinderaker doesn't mention that in addition to Kahn having been the driving force behind such liberal causes as the first law in the nation to ban smoking in public places, she is rabidly partisan.  In 2004 she made news when she was caught and convicted of going up to people's homes and removing Republican campaign literature from their doorsteps

In 2014 Kahn has a primary opponent, a Somali named Mohamud Noor.  It is a holy contested primary, and Kahn has raised allegations of voting irregularities within the Somali community in Minneapolis, irregularities she claims are known by the board of election officials in Minneapolis.  This one should be fun to watch. 

The campaign of Rep. Phyllis Kahn (D-Minneapolis) has filed two complaints regarding improprieties that have allegedly taken place during her heated primary battle with Mohamud Noor.

One alleges that a Minneapolis elections judge named Fadmo called Kahn "an old Jewish Lady" while interpreting the primary ballot for a Somali man who was recently at City Hall to cast his absentee ballot. On the other hand, Fadmo characterized Noor as "our Muslim brother," the complaint says.

More seriously, Kahn has also asked for an investigation of hundreds of Somali voters apparently being registered to vote from the same address, a mixed business residential property at 419 Ceda Avenue South that has perhaps 30 units.    Kahn's opponent, predictably calls such allegations "a dsitraction" from the real issues of the campaign.

Kahn raises an interesting name on one press story. 

Asked how confident she is about prevailing in the August 12 primary, Kahn, who was first elected to the legislature in 1973, says, "I'm never confident, that's why I'm out working and door-knocking."

"Whenever anybody comes up to me and says, 'Things are good very well, they look good,' that's when I say, 'That's what they said with Eric Cantor,'" Kahn says. "The last thing you want to be in this time is confident but you don't want to foul up on issues like this."