Take Action Minnesota backs Rybak, Thissen and Kelliher for governor

The progressive group, Take Action Minnesota, announced today that Minneapolis Mayor R.T. Rybak, DFL state Rep. Paul Thissen and MN House Speaker Margaret Anderson Kelliher (DFL, Minneapolis) are their three preferred candidates for governor.

Take Action President Dan McGrath said 640 of their members voted for their top three candidates and will work to support those candidates in the coming months.

"We're in the early stages of the game," McGrath said. "Our job right now is to hold together a diverse group of folks."

McGrath said Take Action's members will now work to elect delegates that support Rybak, Thissen and Kelliher during the caucus system. He said 1,400 people have signed commitment letters to caucus on behalf of those candidates. He said 340 have committed to serving as state DFL delegates if they make it through the caucus system. He said the group will eventually have to decide which candidate best represents them,

"We recognize we'll need to get behind one candidate at some point," he said.

McGrath said they're viewing the caucuses and the convention as an effort to organize their members for the state primary and the general election. He emphasized that the group "is not beholden to the DFL endorsement."

Here's part of the news release and the results (note, people could choose three candidates on their ballot):

Brooklyn Center, MN - At its Annual Meeting on Sunday afternoon, TakeAction Minnesota announced Minneapolis Mayor R.T. Rybak, State Representative Paul Thissen, and House Speaker Margaret Anderson Kelliher as the organization's three preferred candidates for Governor. The meeting was held at the Earle Brown Heritage Center in Brooklyn Park.

The three candidates were chosen by secret ballot by TakeAction Minnesota members. In the days leading up to Sunday's announcement, members had been given the opportunity to vote in the organization's first-ever online vote, as well as through mail-in balloting, and voting at the Earle Brown Center prior to the start of the Annual Meeting at two o'clock. The online vote was conducted through the reNEW.mn website, with members issued member identification and password codes to confidentially enter their votes. Members were encouraged to vote for their top three choices of governor candidates, the candidates who best matched the spirit of the reNEW Minnesota campaign and who:

- most boldly embraced a progressive vision for Minnesota

- have a solid plan to win the November election

- will work with TakeAction Minnesota once elected to implement the vision

- inspires people to give time and money to help get them elected

The results of the TakeAction Minnesota vote, cast by a total of 643 voting members, were as follows:

• Rybak 336 votes

• Thissen 264 votes

• Anderson Kelliher 261 votes

• Marty 250 votes

• Dayton 138 votes

• Entenza 105 votes

• Kelley 104 votes

• Rukavina 92 votes

• Bakk 48 votes

• Gaertner 46 votes

In advance of the vote, candidates had been vetted by members through a unique and rigorous set of individual forty-five minute screenings, as well as at candidate events focused on topics such as health inequities, Native-American issues, and a Latino issues forum. Eight events, drawing a thousand attendees in total, were held over the course of December and January, with videos and member commentary posted on the reNEW.mn website. The ten candidates also filled out questionnaires which were posted in advance of member voting which opened online last Tuesday, January 26.

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