Minnesota Lawyer
Susan Gaertner
Ramsey County Attorney Susan Gaertner, who didn’t seek the DFL’s endorsement for governor this weekend because she planned to be on the August primary ballot, ended her campaign for governor this afternoon.
Gaertner said at a Capitol press conference that she decided to drop out of the race after “careful analysis” of this weekend’s DFL endorsement of House Speaker Margaret Anderson Kelliher, who outlasted four other credible hopefuls over six ballots on Saturday.
“Two important facts weighed heavily in my decision,” Gaertner said. “That the endorsement of [Kelliher] would pit two women against each other in the primary, and with two self-financed and well-funded male candidates, the resulting struggle would make it extremely difficult to raise sufficient funds for an effective campaign.”
Former U.S. Sen. Mark Dayton and former state House Minority Leader Matt Entenza also declined to seek the DFL’s endorsement in Duluth in favor of running in the primary.
“Since the day I entered this campaign, I always believed there was a path to victory,” Gaertner said today. “Today, that path is not clear. What is clear is that if i stayed in the race, I could hurt the chances of a woman surviving the primary.
“Because this is the first time in more than a century that a woman has come this far, i don’t want to be any part of keeping us from achieving this important milestone for Minnesota women.”
Gaertner fell short of endorsing Kelliher (or anyone else) in the race.
Michael Brodkorb, deputy chair of the Minnesota Republican Party, said Gaertner’s withdrawal from the race — and her failure to endorse anyone — was another example of disarray in the DFL.
“I think what you’re seeing here is, once again, the continuation of DFL disunity,” Brodkorb said. “Susan Gaertner had an opportunity to endorse Margaret Anderson Kelliher, and she didn’t.”
