Election Update: Peterson for Sixth, Benson for First, MPLS DFL endorses Pizza
Here are three updates about upcoming elections in Minnesota.
First, Republican State Senator John Peterson is jumping into the Sixth Congressional District race for Michele Bachmann’s seat.
Pederson said, “I am very humbled by the great deal of unsolicited encouragement I have received from supporters to pursue this congressional seat. I am always grateful to be able to meet the residents I aspire to serve and I am looking forward to getting this campaign started.”
Pederson has won four elections in the last six years in this Congressional District, two for the St. Cloud City Council and two for the Minnesota State Senate.
Second, Republican State Representative Mike Benson is running against Rep. Tim Walz in Minnesota’s First Congressional District.
In a recent interview with the Post-Bulletin, the two-term state representative said he was prompted to run because of concerns about the growing number of federal mandates and regulations being forced on the states.
“I don’t want my legacy to be that I was willing to accept that the better days of America are behind us, and I don’t think they have to be,” he said.
Benson, who represents District 26B in the Legislature, becomes the first Republican to announce a 2014 run against Walz, 49, a former Mankato high school teacher who was first elected in 2006. It appears he may soon have plenty of company, with several Republicans expressing interest in taking on Walz.
Finally, the Democrat–Farming–Laborer Party of Minneapolis failed to endorse a candidate in the race for mayor of Minneapols. The culprit: pizza.
Olivia LaVecchia for the City Pages:
On the fourth ballot, Andrew continued to hold his lead on Hodges, 51 percent to 45 percent – still short of the 60 percent required to win endorsement.
But then all of Hodges’s supporters walked out (a move that other candidates, including retiring Mayor R.T. Rybak, have pulled before). While they snacked on pizza outside the Convention Center, back inside, the fifth ballot tested if there were still enough delegates to reach quorum and proceed.
Not long before midnight, the ballots came up short, and as a result the day reached its seemingly foregone conclusion: There would be no endorsement.
So everyone continues to the general. The ranked preference ballot in Minneapolis makes it easier for an independent candidate (and Late Debate guest) like Cam Winton to get more votes than the five DFLers in the race with him.
Great, now I’m hungry for non-quorum pizza.