Election season is probably my favorite, and this year Minnesota's certainly didn't disappoint.
The excitement stared early with an very competitive three-way race for the DFL gubernatorial Candace between Senator Mark Dayton, Matt Entenza, and state representative Margaret Anderson Kelliher. Dayton narrowly avoided a recount to win a spot on the November ballot.
Dayton and other DFL candidates drew some big names into Minneapolis in an attempt to build support in a year widely characterized by pundits as hostile to Democrats. President Barack Obama became the first sitting president to speak publicly at the University of Minnesota in nearly a century.
President Obama's visit was preceded by an apeance by Vice President Joe Biden at Macalester College.
Independence candidate Tom Horner sought to duplicate the success of of Governor Jesse Ventura in 1998. His supporters remained in good spirits as his poll numbers held at around 12% through the evening.
My night ended early. Horner conceded the race shortly after sharing a dance with his wife Libby. For those at the DFL and GOP parties, however, it wasn't until nearly 3 am that reality that Minnesota would likely be facing another recount as Dayton's lead over Emmer shrank to less than one-half of a percent.
State Representative for district 59b Phyllis Khan was first elected in 1972 and was elected to her 20th term in the State House.
Khan holds dinner fundraisers at the houses of her supporters, a tradition she has continued from her first campaigns.
Of course, the gubernatorial race isn't over yet. Dayton lead over Emmer has dropped to less than 9,000 votes and those numbers could change dramatically over the course of the recount expected to begin later this moth.
Stay tuned....
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