Emmer Wins GOP Primary for Minn. Governor as Three Battle for Dem Nomination

MINNEAPOLIS -- One Minnesota Democrat chasing the party's gubernatorial nomination has a famous name and a deep bank account. Another wasn't as well-known but cut even bigger checks for a barrage of ads. The third relied on a time-tested party machine to round up her votes for Tuesday's primary.

Former Sen. Mark Dayton, former state Rep. Matt Entenza and House Speaker Margaret Anderson Kelliher took varied routes to Minnesota's first-ever August primary, which will set the November lineups for dozens of races to determine control from the statehouse to the governor's office.

The winner will face Republican state Rep. Tom Emmer. He cruised to victory in the Republican primary as the party's preferred candidate to replace outgoing GOP Gov. Tim Pawlenty, who didn't seek a third term. But polls have shown Emmer trailing any of the three Democrats he could go up against as he tries to extend Republicans' eight-year hold on the governor's office.

The 63-year-old Dayton's lengthy past in Minnesota politics -- he first ran statewide in 1982 -- gave him broad recognition among the party faithful. A millionaire himself, his campaign's cornerstone was a pledge to make the top 10 percent of Minnesota income earners pay more in taxes to help plug a budget deficit.

Entenza, 48, put more than $5 million into his bid, most from a family fortune. The St. Paul attorney previously led House Democrats, leaving the chamber just as the party regained majority status. He hit two main themes: investment in next-generation energy projects and a move away from federally imposed student testing requirements.

Kelliher hoped the Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party endorsement she won at the April state convention would give her a ground-game edge against her monied opponents. The 42-year-old promoted a jobs plan tied to additional public borrowing.

A primary victory would make Kelliher the first woman to win a major party's nomination for Minnesota governor.

"I liked what she had to say in the debates and I like that she's a woman," said Nicole Lang, a 32-year-old acupuncturist from Minneapolis who voted for Kelliher. "Democrats need a little re-energizing right now and I think that could be the thing to do it."

But a crowd of mostly older voters at a nearby precinct said they backed Dayton.

Emmer got a boost from Sarah Palin's endorsement a day before the state Republican convention. Since then, he's had a few stumbles, including a furor over his suggestion that tips somehow be used to calculate restaurant server wages. He brought in new top advisers just last week.

An attorney and father of seven, Emmer has played up his past as a collegiate hockey player. On policy, he has been more guarded with details.

Emmer has declined to spell out how he would approach an anticipated $6 billion deficit awaiting the next governor, but says he would "redesign government" and wouldn't allow tax increases.

"We can no longer do what we've been doing," Emmer said Tuesday night. "It's time to actually reduce the size of government. It's time to lower taxes."

The Independence Party -- made famous by former Gov. Jesse Ventura -- had a five-way primary in which public relations executive Tom Horner beat out the only other candidate who mounted a serious campaign, publisher Rob Hahn.