MARK DAYTON AND THE ENDORSEMENT PROCESS

Mark Dayton with Hawk (not Tiger)

Just from going to a lot of conventions, I have found that many party activists, delegates, etc., are totally bummed out at Mark Dayton for his refusal to go through the endorsement process. Many feel that he's not being fair to the candidates who are. His wanting to go straight to the Primary is because he knows he would not win the endorsement. He's going after the Primary voters, who are not party activists or delegates, because he knows they will probably vote for him because they know his name. It's not fair for him to buy another election. On the remote chance that he wins the November election, he'd probably just quit after one term anyway, like he did when he was State Auditor and Senator.

Someone wrote this on a Facebook comment regarding Mark Dayton:

My gutt feeling is that Dayton is only in this race to shape the issues. He knows he couldn't win at the convention or he would have gone for the DFL endorsement. I think he may step aside before the general election, or he could spoil the whole thing. He's a loyal Democrat, why would he want to hurt the party and ultimately Minnesota? We can't let a Republican win this election. Their two front runners could, both, be mayors of crazy town!!

My response:

Dayton is not going to step aside. If he wins the Primary, and it's very likely, he will be the DFL candidate for the November ballot. He thinks he's going to win. I think he can win in August but not in November. I know what the Republicans have on him. They will drag him through the dirt. What they have is nothing to DFLers, but it will vastly hurt his chances of getting swing voters and independent voters, which are needed to win November's election. The other thing is that Dayton wants to be the next governor really, really badly. He thinks it will be his redemption for his senate years. He was not treated well in Washington and it has deeply hurt him. Being the next MN governor will redeem him in the eyes of his beloved Minnesotans. Yet I'm pretty sure he can't win in November. Besides, treating his biggest supporter so shabbily doesn't help his electibility image. Heck, there's only one way he could possibly win in November at this point.

If Mark Dayton did by some chance win the November election, would he be a good governor? Well sure. He'd probably be the best governor that Minnesota has ever had. Each DFL voter will have to decide at the Minnesota Primary whether they are willing to take a chance on Dayton.  Because, my friends, if he loses in November, we will have four to eight more years of a Republican administration. We need to decide who is the most likely DFL candidate to win in November and vote for that person in August at the Primary.

I would start doing internet searches on each candidate and see who is the most qualified to win. I would say it's either Paul Thissen or R. T. Rybak.  Thissen has the cleanest record and Rybak has the most charisma, which always draws in voters. Also, remember that both Rybak and Thissen have the support and backing of TakeAction MN (the reNEW Minnesota Campaign). So does Kelliher. We based our endorsement of these three candidates on three things:

1. Can they win?

2. Are we willing to back them with our money and our time?

3. Are they progressive?

Let's all work together to support whoever the DFL endorsed candidate is.

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