Hopeful Candidates Come to Rochester
08/10/2010
At the end of the Primary Campaign race the DFL endorsed candidate, Margaret Anderson-Kelliher came to Rochester accompanied by former U.S. Vice President, Walter Mondale, who is stumping for her across Minnesota.
Kelliher, Mondale, and Sen. Al Franken appeared at the IBEW Local 343 hall, not too far from Rochester Airport. Also present was Rep. Tina Liebling, Rep. Robin Brown of Austin, and State Senator Ann Lynch.
A separate stop was made during the day by Matt Entenza who is contesting Kelliher and Dayton in the primary.
Former U.S. Sen. Mark Dayton, spent his day campaigning on the Iron Range and in the Twin Cities.
Both Kelliher and Entenza emphasized their commitment to rural Minnesota and their support for Rochester.
Kelliher spoke of her support for the Mayo Civic Center expansion, the genomics partnership between the University of Minnesota and Mayo Clinic, and the University of Minnesota Rochester.
Walter Mondale looked fit, healthy, and energized, as he spoke about Ms Kelliher. He said Kelliher is the best candidate to help restore Minnesota's reputation as a national leader after eight years of Republican Gov. Tim Pawlenty.
"The fact of it is, we have a governor who has turned his back on the Minnesota ideal," Mondale said. "Minnesota was at the top (but) has slipped not just some, but down into the middle-grade of states. We need a governor in our capitol who has a vision."
Kelliher has consistently said that she would focus on creating jobs and investing in schools.
She pointed out that the gas tax increase that she worked to get passed resulted in the expansion of Hwy 52 in Rochester.
In the KSTP primary poll Dayton is first, Kelleher second, and Entenza third. However the hot weather, the busy vacation period, the tight economy, and the scorching weather are thought to impact voter turn-out thus poll forecasts are not considered accurate.
Kelliher said she is relying on "people power," with volunteers expected to make 295,000 phone calls and knock on 30,000 doors across the state.
Earlier, Matt Entenza spoke at the Rochester airport, surrounded by more than a dozen supporters waving signs and sporting green campaign T-shirts. He said he is the candidate who cares the most about southeastern Minnesota.
"We think we are going to win because we have spent more time in rural Minnesota getting votes in rural Minnesota and that has been a real difference between our campaign and the others," he said.
He reminded people that he is the only candidate who has pledged to scrap No Child Left Behind, which he said is hurting public schools, including those in Rochester. He also said he has a balanced approach to solving the budget deficit.
Entenza disagrees with Dayton's income tax proposal on wealthier Minnesotans, which would make Minnesota the state with the highest income tax rate in the country.