This letter Mark Dayton sent out to DFL Party delegates informing them he would not be seeking their endorsement in his bid for governor and his intent to go directly into the DFL Primary. This was originally published in Checks & Balances  on September 28, 1997.

In his first quest to become the state's chief executive Mark Dayton penned a poem about then St. Paul Mayor Norm Coleman (R). We thought revisiting this work was worth the time since Coleman is a potential gubernatorial challenger if Governor Tim Pawlenty (R) should choose not to seek reelection.

Judges Elizabeth Hayden, Kurt Marben, and Denise Reilly heard opening statements from the Coleman and Franken campaigns yesterday, in what can be described as an emotional and charged atmosphere.

As we expected there will be a host of bills seeking to change the electoral process after the U.S. Senate recount. During the process much attention was directed at the 1962 election between Karl Rolvaag and Elmer L. Anderson since it was a statewide recount, we feel the recount process was shaped to a larger degree by the 1986 election contest between Arlen Stangland (R) and Collin Peterson (D).