Minnesota Lawyer

Mark Dayton became the first DFL governor-elect in 24 years under the unlikeliest of circumstances on Tuesday night, beating Republican Tom Emmer by a final margin of fewer than 10,000 votes out of more than 2 million cast. The exceedingly slim margin - less than half of one percent - will trigger an automatic recount.

Mark Dayton rode a dominating performance in greater Minnesota to a narrow victory in Tuesday's DFL gubernatorial primary, edging party endorsee Margaret Anderson Kelliher by just over 6,500 votes out of over 440,000 cast. One-time House Minority Leader Matt Entenza, who spent over $5 million on his primary campaign, garnered just over 80,000 votes.