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Sen. Amy Klobuchar is the DFL endorsed candidate for governor.

The endorsement came after 12:30 Saturday morning on the first ballot at the party’s convention in Rochester. Klobuchar won 67% of the vote.

Klobuchar’s endorsement victory came as no surprise. She has been the clear party favorite since she entered the race shortly after Gov. Tim Walz chose to end his bid for a third term in January.

Klobuchar, a four-term senator, has strong name recognition, has won each of her elections with strong margins and - some Democrats believe - has the ability to win over independent and centrist Republicans.

But the progressive wing of the DFL delegation at the convention in Rochester sent a clear sign they would like her to adopt some more progressive stances. Some progressives pushed for another candidate, Kobey Layne, to be nominated for endorsement. That gave both Layne and Klobuchar the opportunity to speak at the convention.

“I am running for every community that is tired of being harmed at the hands of our government, tired of being harmed by elected leaders who side with big money instead of the people,” Layne said. “Our elected leaders need to state their loyalty, are they aligned with big money or are they with the people? Because they can't be both. My allegiance is to our working class communities every day.”

Layne got a strong round of applause on the convention floor after her speech, in which she outlined a progressive platform.

Klobuchar made the case that she has been working for change throughout her public career.

“I know that we do not agree on everything, but what we do agree on is that in our state we must believe in our future, and we must believe in our freedoms, and we must believe in our progress. I will campaign with tenacity and optimism,” Klobuchar said. “I will do my job without fear or favor. I will be fearless for Minnesota. I will stand my ground for Minnesota. I will be accountable to Minnesota.”

After the speeches, Klobuchar easily won the endorsement.

“With your support I will be the first woman to be elected governor of Minnesota,” Klobuchar said.

Shortly after endorsing Klobuchar, the delegates endorsed Secretary of State Steve Simon’s reelection bid on a voice vote.

Earlier in the night Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison received the DFL endorsement for his reelection campaign.

Ellison has held the office since 2019. Before that he represented Minnesota’s 5th District in Congress.

Ellison, a popular leader in the DFL, sailed easily to the endorsement after being nominated by Klobuchar and Sen. Tina Smith.

Ellison said he would continue to fight the Trump administration 

“I believe our country is facing threats to basic democratic rule,” he said. “I think the attorney general's office has an important and critical role to play to defend the rule of law, to stand up for our state sovereignty, and to stand up for civil and human rights for everybody in our state. So I'm going to continue to do that.”

Republicans are holding their state convention in Duluth. They are expected to endorse a candidate for governor on Saturday.

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Delegates to the DFL state convention in Rochester endorsed Sen. Amy Klobuchar for governor. The nod came less than a day after Klobuchar picked former Fergus Falls Mayor Ben Schierer as her running mate.

Klobuchar wins DFL endorsement for governor

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