Minnesota '09 primary election brings light load

St. Paul, Minn. (AP) — The race for St. Paul mayor as well as city council and school board contests around Minnesota get streamlined Tuesday.

Primary elections in several cities were being held to narrow candidate fields ahead of the November general election. Duluth, Bloomington and Austin were among the cities holding primaries.

The fight to lead Minnesota's capital city is the main event. Four St. Paul candidates, including incumbent Chris Coleman, hoped to be among the two to advance. The Democrat's leading rival is Republican-endorsed challenger Eva Ng.

The Minneapolis mayor's office is also on the line this fall, but the city isn't holding a primary. That's because the city is implementing a new voting method called ranked-choice voting in November.

(Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)