Lt. Gov. Prettner Solon hasn’t decided about 2014

Lt. Gov. Yvonne Prettner Solon chairs a meeting of the Advisory Committee on Capitol Security. (MPR News Photo/Tim Pugmire)
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Lt. Gov. Yvonne Prettner Solon chairs a meeting of the Advisory Committee on Capitol Security. (MPR News Photo/Tim Pugmire)

Gov. Mark Dayton has made it clear that he'll seek a second term next year, but Lt. Gov. Yvonne Prettner Solon is not yet ready to make the same commitment.

Prettner Solon said today that she thinks it's too early for that decision. She pointed out that in the 2010 campaign she didn't join the ticket as Dayton's running mate until the end of May.

"I'm really resistant to starting a campaign a year and a half out before your term is up," Prettner Solon said. "I'm interested in finishing my term, and and I'll give consideration to that after the first of the year."

Prettner Solon represented Duluth in the Minnesota Senate from 2002 to 2010. She's gained attention recently as chair of an advisory panel on state Capitol security issues. But much of her time as lieutenant governor are out of the spotlight, and away from Dayton.

"We don't talk very often," she said. "The governor and I each have very busy schedules, and it's not always easy to accommodate meetings between us."

Dayton told reporters that he talked to Prettner Solon a couple of weeks ago. He declined to comment on their relationship or her plans for 2014.

"It's her decision to make," Dayton said. "We agreed that we'd talk about it at the end of the year."

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