Harrington heads to DFL primary in SD 67

Briana Bierschbach//April 2, 2012

Freshman Sen. John Harrington will head to his second primary election after DFLers in his East Side St. Paul Senate district deadlocked over an endorsement this weekend.

Harrington faced two challengers — former St. Paul City Council member Tom Dimond and activist Foung Hawj — for the Senate District 67 endorsement Saturday. After four ballots, Harrington led Dimond 46 to 40 percent, no where near the 60 percent threshold needed to earn the party’s endorsement.

Activists opted for no endorsement in the end, meaning Harrington and Dimond will head to a primary election.

Prior to the convention, East Side DFLers were making noises about Harrington’s endorsement bid, claiming he has done little to reach out to DFLers since his primary victory in 2010.

The retired St. Paul police chief won a nine-way DFL primary in 2010 after the retirement of DFL Sen. Mee Moua. Harrington won with just more than 30 percent of the vote, with the second place finisher earning about 11 percent of the vote.