Left vs. Right vs. Center in November

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There has not been a Democrat elected governor of Minnesota since Rudy Perpich in 1986.  Mark Dayton has just won the right to try and break that losing streak, facing Republican Tom Emmer and Independence Party candidate Tom Horner in November.

The former U.S. Senator won a close DFL primary contest Tuesday over Margaret Anderson Kelliher, 41 percent to 39 percent of the vote.  Matt Entenza finished a distant third with 18 percent.

This was the first--and probably only--primary to be held in August, a consequence of new laws making it easier for Our Precious Troops to vote via absentee ballot.  Despite hot, steamy weather and thunderstorms, fifteen percent of Minnesotans managed to make it to the polls.  That's more than is typical for a primary, but well below what it would have been for November.

You could say that money helped win this primary for Dayton, who spent $3 million of his own money to campaign.  Entenza spent $5 million telling us that he wanted to get rid of No Child Left Behind in Minnesota schools, when the economy is what voters wanted to hear about.  And all that money still couldn't buy Entenza name recognition, not when he sat next to his running mate, former KMSP news anchor Robyne Robinson. Kelliher, trying to prove that her DFL endorsement still meant something, found that the money she spent for TV ads long after the other guys had theirs up and running was too little, too late.

Now it's on to the general election, where both Dayton and Emmer have to convince the voters that their extreme positions won't be a hindrance to being Governor.

Dayton has often said he favors taxing the rich to help pay down Minnesota's ballooning budget deficit, which would sound more convincing if he weren't so wealthy himself.  Dayton also has to answer for the strange behavior he exhibited during his Senate days, such as closing his office due to alleged terror threats, which is something he never did explain.  And then there are his health issues, which the GOP will certainly pounce on if they're desperate.

Emmer, one of those anti-tax and anti-government folks that Sarah Palin seems to adore (she endorsed him, in fact), has been plagued by campaign gaffes and staff shakeups as he is trailing Dayton in the polls.  And the flap over Target's participation in MN Forward, which is giving money to the Emmer campaign, hasn't helped him either.

Horner is positioning himself as the candidate for people who can't bring themselves to vote for either Dayton or Emmer, regardless of party loyalty.  In this partisan age, that might be a tough sell.  But then again, being a third-party candidate is usually a no-win situation.

If the amount of money spent on the DFL primary was any indication, this is likely going to be the most expensive governor's race in Minnesota history.  What remains to be seen is whether Tom Emmer or Mark Dayton can convince the voters that money isn't everything.