Top consultant leaves Emmer campaign for Minn. gov

A top consultant who helped Republican Gov. Tim Pawlenty and former U.S. Sen. Norm Coleman win elections says he has left the campaign of GOP gubernatorial candidate Tom Emmer.

Public relations executive Tom Mason said Friday that the campaign was becoming too time-consuming and distracting him from his business. He says he remains an Emmer supporter and plans to stay involved as a volunteer.

Campaign spokesman Bill Walsh says the campaign plans to make a new hire soon.

Emmer's campaign has been lackluster, with stumbles of his own making including a furor over restaurant server tips.

But Mason says his departure isn't related to any of those problems. He says Democrats have spent millions on TV ads attacking Emmer and he hopes that independent groups supporting Emmer will respond in kind.

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