Senate District 67 Convention Report:

Well, we had it, today. Now it's over.

The big issue was the actual State Senate race for the district, and we were supposed to endorse a candidate. The incumbent, John Harrington, had too opponents, both of them progressives. One was a pleasant and progressive caucasian man; the other a Hmong man with lots of community organizing experience, and an enthusiastic group of supporters. Harrington, a black man with a lot of experience in law enforcement, is a moderate Democrat, and his first election in 2010 was hotly contested. He has a few iffy viewpoints, including support for alternative credentialing for teachers, that has earned him some dislike. Beyond that, he's a typical moderate Democrat, and is not uniformly popular in the district.

The upshot is that, after four ballots, with the Hmong candidate, Foung Hewj (pronounced Her), being eliminated in the second ballot after failing to draw 25% of the vote, neither of the two remaining candidates could muster the 60% majority required to earn the endorsement, and ended in a virtual tie. About 20% voted No Endorsement in the third and fourth ballots. So, No Endorsement it is. The Convention also voted to prevent the District 67 Board from making an endorsement prior to the primary. That's an unusual step, and reflected the disagreement among supporters of the three original candidates and the general support for Harrington among board members.

Bottom line is that all three will be on the ballot for the primary election, and it's likely to be a repeat of 2010.

Edit to add: I voted for Foung on the first ballot, then switched my vote to Dimond for the next three.

State Legislative Districts 67A and 67B were uncontested, so the two very popular incumbents were endorsed by acclamation.

Aside from that, electing delegates for the State convention and Congressional District convention were the only two other issues. This year, due to redistricting, the state convention delegates, along with the alternates, will represent the Senate district in the Congressional District convention as delegates. I left before this election, since I cannot make it to the State Convention and the Congressional District convention will be a pro forma endorsement of Betty McCollum, our current and excellent House member.

The DFL at work. Always a pleasure and an interesting way to participate in the election process.