It’s official, the Democratic Farmer Labor party has an endorsed candidate. There was certainly much to talk about, but after all the drama and voting, we endorsed a candidate. Erin Murphy.
The day started with voting for attorney general and in an upset, Matt Pelikan unseeded incumbent Lori Swanson for the endorsement. What I feel can only be a thumb in the eye of the establishment, the DFL delegates followed suit and after 5 rounds of balloting, endorsed Murphy.
There were speeches by all the candidates prior to voting. Murphy spoke first and was met with large support. Tim Walz spoke next and despite a scratchy voice, gave a powerful presentation. Rebecca Otto spoke last.
During each presentation by the candidates I felt something different. It’s hard to explain but I was excited. Listening to each of them speak I could picture myself voting for any one of them. In the end I voted on the issues. That wasn’t easy. Most of the candidates, at this point, were running nearly identical campaigns. It was difficult to discern simply on the issues.
The balloting for the gubernatorial candidates was an emotional experience and the most exciting part of the convention. I did not vote for one candidate. I voted for multiple candidates. I began by voting for one specific candidate I favored most and then proceeded to finish voting for the same candidate. There was definitely pressure from the surrounding members of the convention to vote for specific candidates over others. There were marches through the convention hall, and rally’s outside the doors. It was not quiet.
Walking into the convention I felt like Walz was the prohibited favorite and was going to win. Then, my friend (one of the delegates) and I got closer to the convention floor. There was a line of people. A parade going almost all the way to the entrance doors of the building. The convention was held at the Rochester Civic Center and it is a large building. There was a short hallway and then a long and wide corridor, which was filled with people and vendors, stretching all the way down to the Arena.
This entire hallway was filled with Erin Murphy supporters lining a path for Erin to walk through all the way to the convention. At this point I knew it would probably be a long afternoon. Although there were hundreds of Walz t-shirts I didn’t think there were enough.
After the first round Walz was in the lead. The crowd of Walz supporters cheered all throughout the Arena. Although he was only winning by a little under two percent, it felt like he was on his way to the DFL endorsement. Walz had about 41 percent of the vote, Murphy 39.7 percent and Rebecca Otto in third with 18 percent. The Otto supporters would eventually swing the endorsement.
During the second round of balloting Murphy began to pull away. She received about 52 percent of the vote compared to Walz at about 47 percent. The Otto camp had abandoned ship. After the results of the second round were displayed, Otto came to the stage. She announced that she would take the weekend to consider her options.
To receive the endorsement a candidate needs 60% of the vote. The third round of balloting showed Murphy’s continued momentum and she was riding the moment. This time she came in just under 54% and Walz about the same as the previous ballot, except this time there were some votes for no-endorsement. After this ballot the convention took a turn that a lot of delegates didn’t like.
Just before the fourth round of balloting, Tim and Rebecca came out together holding hands and walking through the convention floor. I was thinking there may have been an endorsement that could swing the voting back in Tim’s favor. I was wrong. They came out together to try and swing the voting to endorse no one. With four fingers on each hand to represent the vote for no endorsement, both of them together walked through the rows of people trying to plead for the decision to be made by the voters of Minnesota, not the DFL party.
The decision not to pursue the endorsement irritated me, along with many others. After the fourth round of balloting, Ken Martin, the head of the Minnesota DFL, came to the microphone with a few things to say. "We have never in the history of the DFL party gone to primary without an endorsed candidate. We will stay here as long as it takes, and we will unite and leave here with an endorsed candidate."
Back and forth chants went from Walz supporters and Murphy delegates, one chanting “Endorse, endorse!” and the other for the other option, “four, four,” and “vote your conscience.” Two rounds of voting later and the writing was on the wall. After the sixth round of voting Murphy had captured 58.7% of the delegates. After this, Martin returned to the stage to announce Walz was no longer seeking the endorsement.
After the announcement, Martin called on the delegation to endorse Murphy unanimously by saying, "I." The delegates rang out loudly and at last we had an endorsed candidate. Walz brought his supporters outside for a rally following the endorsement and declared he will not end his fight on the convention floor, but will take his fight to the voting booths in the August primary.
My first experience as a delegate to a state convention was very memorable. I really enjoyed myself and felt very flattered and proud to be a Minnesotan. Listening to the great speakers I was overwhelmed with emotions as I was throughout the entire weekend. It was an experience I will not forget.
Thought for the day: things don’t always turn out the way you expect. This isn’t always a bad thing and it usually tends to work out the best way in the end. I would like to end by giving a thanks to all the volunteers, delegates, and candidates that made this process possible. It was an unforgettable weekend.