Some political scenes from tonight

Posted at 7:39 PM on November 2, 2010 by Paul Tosto
Filed under: Campaign 2010

MPR's correspondents are all out tonight bringing results, news and perspective.

Reporters Tim Pugmire and Mark Zdechlik sent us a couple quick dispatches.

Pugmire puts us at the scene for the Minnesota governor's race.

The Minneapolis Hilton Hotel is election night headquarters for Mark Dayton and the Minnesota DFL.

We're in the Minneapolis ballroom on the hotel's third floor.

There's room for up to 600 people. Organizers are expecting about 400 or more. There are about 30 reporters set up to cover the festivities.

Mark Dayton is not expected to arrive until later. Dayton voted earlier today at Emerson Spanish Immersion School near his home in Minneapolis. We know from a campaign spokesman that he took one of his dogs to the vet, and was eating dinner with his sons and father. Dayton will stay in a room in the hotel keeping track of results and will come downstairs to great supporters once there's some news.

Meanwhile, DFL party officials will kickoff the election night program at about 9:00. We're expecting to hear remarks from Party Chairman Brian Melendez, Minneapolis Mayor R.T. Rybak, state Sen. Larry Pogemiller and Minnesota's U.S. Senators Franken and Klobuchar.

DFL congressional candidates and constitutional officers are also expected to address the crowd once their races are determined.

Dayton wrapped up his campaign last night with rallies in Minneapolis and Saint Paul. He also made stops Monday in Duluth, Hibbing, Moorhead, Worthington and Rochester.

Dayton won the DFL nomination in the August 10th primary, defeating the party's endorsed candidate Margaret Anderson Kelliher. Many DFL insiders have said that earlier primary helped Dayton with some extra time to unify the party behind him.

Zdechlik checks in from Independence Party candidate Tom Horner's operation:

People streaming into Horner celebration at the Sheraton Minneapolis West. The drinks from the cash bar are flowing and the free appetizers are popular. The Rockin Hollywoods have been playing since about 7:00.

Former Senator Dean Barkely is among those attending the Horner Party so too is Art Rolnick the senior vice president and director of research at the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis. Of course there are a lot of reporters there as well.

We're also keeping tabs on the numbers coming in for Minnesota House and Minnesota Senate.

Stay tuned. And post below and tell us what you're seeing tonight in your part of Minnesota.

UPDATE: 8:30 p.m.: Zdechlik says: "Arne Carlson took the podium telling Horner supporters to "Pray hard, very hard and good things will happen."

Horner thanked supporters and campaign staffers during a brief trip to the podium and then is was back to the Rockin Hollywoods

9:10 PM Update: Pugmire sent us this dispatch:

Sen. Klobuchar told reporters she was preparing to return to a much different Washington than the one she left.

Despite an expected changeover in the House, Klobuchar predicted Democrats will hang onto the Senate, although by a narrower majority.

"There's no doubt that we're going to have to work together better to move the country forward," Klobuchar said.

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