Despite concerns about the new August primary date and severe thunderstorms that flooded parts of the state, more than 580,000 Minnesotans—or more than 15% of registered voters—made it to the polls.

With the primary election now behind us, the three major party candidates will begin rallying and unifying their bases for the November general election. If you would like to hear more from the three candidates, you can listen to a post-primary interview with them by clicking here.

DFL Primary: A Nail-Biter … But, We Have a Winner

As of this morning, former U.S. Senator Mark Dayton appeared to have squeaked through with a win over House Speaker Margaret Anderson Kelliher. With 99% of precincts having reported and a margin of 6,000 votes, Dayton seemed the decisive winner in the DFL primary. Kelliher did not concede the race until late this morning, after waiting for the remaining precincts to report. In a written statement, Kelliher stated that she "offered him (Dayton), my full support…. Today we will come together as DFLers. We will unite behind Mark Dayton." She scheduled a press conference for 3 p.m. this afternoon for what many expect to be her concession speech and her appeal to her supporters to unite behind Dayton as the chosen candidate.

As precinct reports came in Kelliher had the early lead, garnering the majority of support from the Twin Cities metro area. Yet as numbers began coming in from the Iron Range and greater Minnesota, her lead began slowly eroding. Despite being the DFL-endorsed candidate and receiving the support of labor and education unions, Kelliher’s lack of name recognition and ability to self-finance her campaign seemed to hurt her in the end. Dayton spent approximately $3.3 million of his personal money on his campaign while Kelliher relied on the contributions of her supporters. Both candidates were outspent by former House Minority Leader Matt Entenza, who contributed $5 million of his own money to the race. Though his war chest was much larger than either Kelliher’s or Dayton’s and allowed him to be the first to purchase television ads and multiple mailings, it wasn’t enough to garner even 20% of the vote.

Dayton won the primary with less than 60% of Democrats voting for him. His name recognition, his relationship with seniors, and his family’s iconic background in business seemed to be all he needed to eke out the victory.

He May Not Be Jesse Ventura, But…

PR strategist, former Republican staffer and long-time businessman Tom Horner easily won the Independence Party (IP) primary for Minnesota governor. Horner was joined on the ballot by four other IP candidates but was clearly the frontrunner, gaining the support of former U.S. Senator Dave Durenberger and former U.S. Representative and IP candidate Tim Penny early on. Horner was also the target of some Republicans who feared his well-established ties within the business community would draw support away from the Republican-endorsed candidate, Tom Emmer.

Horner’s biggest challenger, Rob Hahn, seemed to lose support in the last couple of weeks after it was revealed that his ex-wife had filed a protection order against him and allegations of anger issues surfaced. Horner ran a fairly low-profile campaign, staying out of the fray, which may have helped him breeze through the election.

Horner has called for a series of debates between the candidates. "I hope we have a campaign that is focused on issues and solutions," Horner said. Despite his lack of campaign funds, Horner may have an advantage in appearing to be the moderate in a contest between two extremely partisan Republican and Democratic nominees. There will be a number of people (including Republicans and Democrats) and businesses looking for someone who best represents their centrist ideals. If Horner can increase his visibility and campaign finance treasure chest, he may be able to rise above his dark-horse status in the race.

Emmer Sails Through Republican Primary

Minnesota State Representative Tom Emmer sailed through his party’s gubernatorial primary yesterday. Despite some recent attack ads criticizing past DUI offenses, Emmer’s win Tuesday was never in question. The Republican-endorsed candidate won his primary with 82% of the vote.

Emmer’s message has been consistent so far: less government and spending, and lower taxes. This is contrary to what Dayton has promised to do: raise taxes on the wealthiest individuals in the state. In an interview with Minnesota Public Radio, Emmer said he was "very excited" to enter the general election and he was confident that his campaign—about less government, more opportunity and jobs, and the future of our kids—would prevail in the hearts and minds of Minnesotans.

Leading up to the election, polls showed Emmer trailing all three of the DFL primary candidates. However, according to Annette Meeks, Emmer’s running mate, "It’s one thing to run against someone with a record, as opposed to a theoretical opponent. And I think that’s going to help us immensely."

The general election campaign between Emmer and Dayton is likely to get personal and negative. Emmer is sure to bring up Dayton’s performance as a U.S. Senator (he graded himself an F during his tenure and was voted one of the worst senators by Time Magazine), and Dayton will likely continue to emphasize Emmer’s conservative Tea Party positions. With both having reputations for being temperamental and unpredictable, it may come down to who maintains composure and equanimity during debates and throughout the rest of the campaign season.

Two Incumbents Out – Two Unendorsed Newbies In

On the legislative front, election watchers focused on a handful of primaries where incumbents faced intra-party challengers. Easily vanquishing their opponents were Senators Geoff Michel (R-Edina), Ann Rest (DFL-New Hope), and Linda Higgins (DFL-Minneapolis); and Representatives John Persell (DFL-Bemidji), Mark Buesgens (R-Jordan), and Joe Mullery (DFL-Minneapolis). For Senators Paul Koering (R-Fort Ripley) and Satveer Chaudhary (DFL-Fridley), the ending was not a happy one.

Neither of the senators had their party’s endorsement. Openly gay Senator Koering chose not to seek the GOP endorsement when former State Representative and conservative Christian Paul Gazelka (R-Brainerd) threw his hat in the ring. Beyond not having the party’s backing, Koering’s situation was compounded when he had a dinner date with a gay porn star who "tweeted" about the proceedings online. The combination of these factors gave Gazelka the edge, and he won with 57% of the vote.

Senator Chaudhary began the campaign season with the DFL endorsement, but had it stripped by his Senate district when it was revealed that he had inserted language into a natural resources policy bill that would have benefited the fish stock on a lake on which he owns a cabin. His difficulties were compounded by the discovery that the Senator and his wife owed the IRS hundreds of thousands of dollars in back taxes for stock options she had taken a few years prior. Additionally, DFL Party stalwarts in the district were nonplussed over Chaudhary’s decision to back gubernatorial candidate Mark Dayton over the DFL-endorsed Margaret Anderson Kelliher. With the party against him, Chaudhary handily lost to former State Representative Barb Goodwin (DFL-Columbia Heights), 70%-30%.

Open Seats

In Saint Paul, the retirements of Senator Mee Moua (DFL-67) and Representative Cy Thao (DFL-65A) set off a flurry of activity to replace them. For the Senate seat, 9 Democrats lined up in the primary to replace her. Leading the pack was former Saint Paul Police Chief John Harrington, who garnered 30% of the vote. His next three opponents trailed him with only 11% of the votes cast. After a crowded endorsement contest, two candidates duked it out in the primary for the Thao seat: former Betty McCollum staffer and DFL-endorsed Jeremiah Ellis versus Rena Moran, who received the blessing of the progressive group Take Action Minnesota. Surprisingly, Moran came out on top with 54%. The loss of Moua and Thao leaves the legislature with no Hmong American representation while the potential election of Harrington and Moran could double the number of African Americans serving.

Other noteworthy outcomes in open seats include the election of State Representative Roger Reinert (DFL-Duluth) as the DFL-endorsed candidate to replace Senator Yvonne Prettner Solon, who stepped down to be Mark Dayton’s running mate. Tea Party candidate Rudy Takala made a valiant effort and received 41% of the vote in House District 8B (Mora), but that was not enough to take out his GOP-endorsed opponent Roger Crawford. And Wyoming, Minnesota, Mayor Sheldon Anderson could not overcome the GOP-endorsed Bob Barrett for the open seat in Chisago County (17B) vacated by Representative Jeremy Kalin.

For all information on primary results, go to the Secretary of State’s web site by clicking here.