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Governor: Pam Ellison


SNAPSHOT
Though the U.S. Senate race seemed to hold the most promise for a close race, it was the governor's race in Minnesota that grabbed the election-night headlines. Incumbent Tim Pawlenty held onto his office by just 22,000 votes over DFLer Mike Hatch. But Pawlenty saw his GOP colleagues swept out of office. In the Senate race, DFLer Amy Klobuchar easily beat Rep. Mark Kennedy.

The retirement of Sen. Mark Dayton sparked early interest in the campaign, with Rep. Mark Kennedy jumping in early. But a year later, Kennedy emerged as the lone Republican for the job, and Hennepin County Attorney Amy Klobuchar's strength was forcing several Democrats, including Patty Wetterling, out of the race.

The Senate race immediately attracted national attention, but as Klobuchar surged ahead of Kennedy in the polls, much national attention turned to the 6th District, where Patty Wetterling and state Sen. Michele Bachmann were the major contenders. Bachmann beat Wettlerling. It was Wetterling's second straight loss in the district. In the 5th, Rep. Keith Ellison became the first Muslim congressman. And in the 1st, incumbent Gil Gutknecht was defeated by DFLer Tim Walz.
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With less than two weeks to go until the election, GOP candidates are running ads on immigration. One reason is that the issue is important to GOP voters. (10/27/2006)
A collection of recent Minnesota Public Radio reports examining some of the issues in the races for the U.S. Senate and the governor's office. (Midday, 10/26/2006)
Like he did in the stretch run four years ago, Republican Gov. Tim Pawlenty began airing an immigration-themed ad. Meanwhile, Democratic challenger Mike Hatch expressed a willingness to approve a gas tax increase despite his personal opposition to it. (10/25/2006)
If you're not sick of political ads on TV by now you probably will be by Election Day. (10/24/2006)
You won't find anything about social issues such as abortion and same sex marriage on the gubernatorial candidates' Web sites, but they're important to many voters. (10/24/2006)
In a battle of spreadsheets and bar graphs, Republican Gov. Tim Pawlenty and Democratic challenger Mike Hatch traded accusations Sunday over crime-fighting. (10/22/2006)
DFL gubernatorial candidate Mike Hatch says he won't make any promises about education spending until it's clear that Minnesota has a budget surplus. (10/19/2006)
Minnesota lost nearly 13,000 jobs in September, the third largest monthly job loss in more than 50 years. (10/17/2006)
Public safety is traditionally an important issue for voters, especially those living in areas touched by drugs or violence. (10/17/2006)
A Star Tribune poll shows DFL challenger Mike Hatch pulling ahead of incumbent Republican Tim Pawlenty in the Minnesota governor's race. (10/16/2006)
Midday's Meet the Candidates series concludes three days of gubernatorial contenders with Peter Hutchinson of the Independence Party. (Midday, 10/13/2006)
Gov. Tim Pawlenty says if Minnesota has a budget surplus, he doesn't want to use the additional money for rebate checks to taxpayers. (10/12/2006)
From the perspective nearly every poll, the race for governor in Minnesota is close. MPR's Midday spends an hour with the DFL challenger -- Mike Hatch. (Midday, 10/11/2006)
Republican Gov. Tim Pawlenty says the state's job market is "on fire," while his opponents say Minnesota's economic picture is not so hot. (10/10/2006)
In their first and only post-primary debate outside of the Twin Cities, the two frontrunners and Independence Party candidate Peter Hutchinson were forced to address the medical research issue and a railroad expansion that both loom large in the state's third-largest city. (10/05/2006)