Politics & Government

Minneapolis DFL Party to Try Endorsing a Mayoral Candidate Saturday

Endorsements from groups and individuals could play a part in delegates' decisions.

Saturday's Minneapolis DFL Party convention could determine the next mayor of Minneapolis, if delegates are able to endorse a candidate to present to Democrat-leaning Minneapolis voters in November. And endorsements candidates have rounded up from organizations and individuals may help sway some DFL delegates, City Pages' Blotter blog reported

The race is on for outgoing Mayor R.T. Rybak's office. Facing a crowded field of candidates, the six leading mayoral contenders are relying on a key measure to help them stand out from the pack: Who they can get to endorse them.


The prize of this race-within-the-race will come at the Minneapolis DFL's convention tomorrow, June 15, where five of the six main candidates are gunning for the party's endorsement.

Read the full article at blogs.citypages.com

The Journal posted its own roundup of mayoral-candidate endorsements, including this week's news: 

Andrew, a former Hennepin County commissioner, announced today he has the backing of Tom Hoch, president of Hennepin Theater Trust. Yesterday he got the support of Tina Flint Smith, who is Gov. Mark Dayton’s chief of staff. ...

Hodges, a City Council member from Ward 13, announced earlier this week the backing of the Sierra Club and St. Paul Mayor Chris Coleman.

Read the full article at journalmpls.com. Also see theSouthwest Journal's mayoral-candidate profile page

Find out what's happening in Southwest Minneapoliswith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Politics in Minnesota sounded a pessimistic note about prospects that the convention would endorse anyone: 

Minneapolis DFLers have failed to endorse a candidate for mayor in two of the last three election cycles. In 2001, R.T. Rybakdenied Sayles-Belton the endorsement. Four years later the convention deadlocked between support for Rybak and Hennepin County Commissioner Peter McLaughlin. Rybak was the DFL-endorsed candidate in 2009.

Find out what's happening in Southwest Minneapoliswith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Only two candidates — Schiff and Andrew — have committed to dropping out of the race if someone else is endorsed. Stafford believes no candidate is likely to reach the 60 percent threshold required for endorsement this time around as well. “I think it’s highly unlikely. There’s still a possibility,” he said. “I have been proven wrong before.”

Read the full article at politicsinminnesota.com.  

Related at Patch: 


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