Mark Dayton will lead Minnesota Democrats’ quest for the Governors office this November. He defeated DFL-endorsed rival Margaret Anderson Kelliher by less than two percentage points in a neck-to-neck battle for last week’s Primary Election. The third force vying for the DFL nomination, Worthington, MN, native and former House Speaker, Matt Entenza, conceded early on election night August 10, as returns flowed toward Dayton and Anderson Kelliher.In many ways, the Dayton victory was an upset. Not only did he turn conventional wisdom on its head by refusing to seek endorsement in the precinct caucus process, which consequently yielded party support for Anderson Kelliher, Dayton masterfully crafted a strategy that could be described in rural/urban, versus, the urban/rural strategy that, at the end of the day, did not yield victory for Entenza.
With the DFL’s endorsement, odds were on Anderson Kelliher as the party’s standard bearer going into the primary. But this was an unusual election for several reasons. First, both Dayton and Entenza possess financial wherewithal to mount formidable initiatives to speak directly to democratic voters, even without the endorsement. Neither flinched in investing personal wealth to achieve the nomination. Both outspent Anderson Kelliher by a margin of 4-1. Anderson Kelliher raised and spent in the area of $1 million while Dayton and Entenza each raised less than $1 million but spent more than $4 million of their own money to get to DFL voters.
While Entenza ignited the urban and youth vote in a strategy that we call urban/rural, by contrast, Dayton pursued and gain elderly voters’ support in a strategy focused first on rural voters, then urban elders.
Anderson Kelliher suffered, some observers say, from over reliance on the middle, not reaching out to elders or youth, and not having a solid base of financial support from the DFL Party that would allow her to distinguish her candidacy in a field of high profile players.
To their credit, Anderson Kelliher and Entenza closed ranks behind Mark Dayton hours after Dayton’s win became clear, committing themselves and their supporters to a unified DFL campaign, supporting Mark Dayton against Independent Party primary winner, Tom Horner, and against Republican party endorsee, Tom Emmer.
In other primary election races, former St. Paul Police Chief John Harrington, is in line to become the first African American to win a seat in the Minnesota Senate since Robert Lewis represented St. Louis Park in the Senate in the 1970s. If Harrington wins the November General Election, he will be the first African American elected to the Senate from a district with a sizable population of people of color.
St. Paul was the scene of another election upset. TakeAction MN-endorsed Rita Moran defeated DFL-endorsed Jeremiah Ellis to gain the DFL nomination to House seat 65A, a seat formerly held by Cy Thao, who said he would not seek reelection.
As in the Anderson Kelliher defeat, the Ellis defeat raises questions about the value of a DFL endorsement, when, in the past, such endorsement was tantamount to election in Minnesota contests.
In Minneapolis, incumbent Linda Higgins beat back a challenge from Troy Parker, who still showed respectably the 27% of votes compared to over 68% for Higgins.
In Hennepin County, 2nd District Commissioner, Mark Stenglein, who has declared himself a DFLer and received DFL endorsement for this contest, enjoyed a commanding victory, garnering 71% of the vote in a non-partisan primary contest.
Minneapolis DFL voters nominated Richard Mammen for one of two at-large seats on the Minneapolis School Board. But he still has to vie in November with three other candidates: incumbent T. Williams, education activist Chandra Baker-Smith and newcomer Kathy Gagnon, both of whom outpolled Williams in the primary.
The race that bears close watch is the Brooklyn Park city council race that is placing Boyd Morson in contention. Morson came in second in a field of 5, his numbers likely diminished by another Black candidate. The possibility of Morson reaching out to immigrant African voters, as well as African American and other dissatisfied residents, can mean Brooklyn Park will elect its first Black City Council Member.
