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Minnesota's party endorsement conventions are weeks away. Here's how the state's major elections are shaping up

By
Esme Murphy
Esme Murphy
Reporter/Anchor
Esme Murphy, a reporter and Sunday morning anchor for WCCO-TV, has been a member of the WCCO-TV staff since December 1990. She is also a weekend talk show host on WCCO Radio. Born and raised in New York City, Esme ventured into reporting after graduating from Harvard University.
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Esme Murphy

/ CBS Minnesota

The party endorsement conventions for both parties in Minnesota, where each party will endorse candidates for governor, U.S. Senate and U.S. House, are just weeks away.

Both the DFL and GOP nominating conventions are the last weekend in May 7, and voting for the Aug. 11 primary begins in June. 

So, how are things shaping up in Minnesota's major elections? 

The Iran War and now failed peace talks have dominated the latest headlines here and across the country, and have resulted in sharp increases in gas prices, diesel prices and farm essentials like fertilizer. 

Right before the peace talks collapsed, an Economist/YouGov poll found that 9% of Democrats support the war, 24% of independents support the war and 67% of Republicans support the war. 

So how will the war impact Republican and DFL candidates? 

"Americans understand gas prices are too high. Americans are united, saying we don't want boots on the ground," Democratic analyst Abou Amara said.

"I also think polls are polls now, so many people would rather say they are with their side than with the other side," Republican analyst Amy Frederickson said.

In recent years, there have been candidates who have chosen to ignore the parties' endorsing convention and go straight to the primary. In the governor's race on the DFL side, Sen. Amy Klobuchar is considered a clear favorite. On the Republican side, there are three top candidates, and one of them, Mike Lindell, says he is going on to the convention regardless. 

"Mike Lindell is only important because he says he is going to the primary. He is not winning. He's not going to win the endorsement," Frederickson said.

In the U.S. Senate race, there is a possibility on both the Democratic and Republican sides that at least one candidate will go ahead to the primary even though they will have lost the endorsing convention.

"Republicans should focus on getting a strong candidate themselves on the ballot for U.S. Senate, finally," Amara said.

Both parties have a history of candidates not winning the endorsement but going on to the primary. Republican Gov. Arne Carlson, who served as governor from 1991 to 1999, never got the party endorsement. 

On the DFL side, Mark Dayton in the 2010 gubernatorial election and Tim Walz in 2018 both failed to win their party's endorsement but went on to win not only their primaries but also the general elections.

You can watch WCCO Sunday Morning with Esme Murphy and Adam Del Rosso every Sunday at 6 a.m. and 10:30 a.m.

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