Delegates in Rochester selected Sen. Scott Newman, R-Hutchinson, to compete for state attorney general and former Long Lake Mayor Randy Gilbert to run for state auditor in the first endorsements of the state party convention on Friday

State Sen. Dave Thompson is considering a run against U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar in 2012, Politico reports. The Lakeville Republicans is a former radio talk show host and the only freshman senator to land a leadership post in the GOP caucus.

Democratic Minnesota Attorney General Lori Swanson is getting on the air before November, when she will face Republican attorney Chris Barden in the polls.

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.

Breaking with the election night tradition that compels candidates to remain cloistered until glory or defeat is confirmed, Independence Party gubernatorial hopeful Tom Horner strolled into his campaign headquarters at precisely 7:55 last night and began to press the flesh.

For the past 40 years, irrespective of larger political currents, the Minnesota DFL has owned the office of state attorney general. Beginning in the middle of the first Nixon administration, the post has been occupied by an uninterrupted quartet of Democrats: Warren Spannaus (1971-82), Hubert H. "Skip" Humphrey III (1983-98), Mike Hatch (1999-2006), and Hatch protégé Lori Swanson (2007-present).

Out of the three DFL constitutional officers in Minnesota, it was Attorney General Lori Swanson who raised the most money in her re-election bid, taking in $141,000 with $203,000 in the bank.

GOP attorney general candidate R. Christopher Barden is regarded as a complete unknown by many at the GOP convention, and this bit of news may not help: According to Hennepin County property tax records, the Edina home of the Republican endorsee for AG is not homesteaded.

DFL Chair Melendez criticized the candidates endorsed tonight at the GOP state convention to run for secretary of state and attorney general. Both offices are currently held by DFLers.

One of the few things that organizers and delegates to this weekend’s state Republican convention can agree on: The gubernatorial endorsement battle between Tom Emmer and Marty Seifert won’t drag out as long as the 2002 fight between Tim Pawlenty and Brian Sullivan.