DFLers gather to debate then unite
Minnesota Democrats gathered in Minneapolis Saturday with their state party still divided between presidential candidates Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders.
Supporters of both candidates packed the DFL convention at Orchestra Hall where party activists were to elect 27 delegates and six alternates to next month’s Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia.
Sanders won the Minnesota DFL precinct caucuses by a wide margin back on March 1. But Clinton is expected to lock up the party nomination Tuesday when primaries are held in California, New Jersey and other states.
DFL Chair Ken Martin, a Clinton supporter, said he thinks the party will come together and get ready for the November election.
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“This is a wonderful time for our party to have all this new energy, fresh ideas, new perspectives on not only the platform but our party process,” Martin said. “It’s incumbent upon party leaders like myself, not only here in this state but around the country, to find a way to embrace that.”
Carolyn Williams, a delegate and Sanders supporter from St. Cloud, said she too is expecting to see the party unite behind its nominee.
“We need to go through the process," Williams said. "We’ve got to set our children an example so that they’ll have something to look back on. We’ve got all these young people going for Bernie and in the process, and we want to keep them in the process.”
Gov. Mark Dayton called for party unity in his speech to the convention. Dayton, a Clinton supporter, warned delegates not to put their candidates and causes ahead of party unity.
“I’m concerned that our differences over our presidential preferences not cause harm to other DFL candidates, who will need our united efforts to win in November,” Dayton said.
U.S. Rep. Keith Ellision, who supports Sanders, emphasized voter turnout as the key to beating Trump in November. But Ellison never mentioned Sanders or Clinton by name in his speech.
“Let me just say that we have got to all get out there and keep this revolution going," Ellison said. "We have got to build on the movement.”
U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar also urged delegates to come together with an eye on the November election.
“Of course you have your differences,” Klobuchar said. “But we understand in the end we have one job and that is to make sure Donald Trump is not the next president of the United States.”
Criticism of Trump was another dominant theme of the convention.
U.S. Rep Rick Nolan made a connection between Trump and his 8
th
District Republican challenger, Stewart Mills.
“We got a yahoo, not unlike Donald Trump, thinks he can get a haircut and open up his fat checkbook from inheritance and buy a seat in the Congress,” Nolan said. “Help me make sure he sure as hell doesn’t get that done.”
As Nolan addressed the convention, Ken Martin was explaining to reporters Trump’s potential mixed impact on congressional races in Minnesota. Martin said he thinks Trump will help DFL candidates in the suburban 2
nd
and 3
rd
Congressional districts. But he said he’s watching the 8
th
District very carefully.
“It’s going to make it a trickier race for Rick Nolan,” Martin said. “It doesn’t guarantee that Stewart Mills will win. But it certainly is going to make that race a lot tighter than it would have been.”