House negotiators rejected the Senate’s $9.50 offer last night, in part because its application would have been restricted to big businesses.

Move MN, a coalition of transportation funding advocates, hopes the two revenue streams would result in $727 million per year.

Seifert, who joined the gubernatorial contest in late November, nabbed 28 percent of the precinct vote to lead all comers.

Johnson, a Hennepin County Commissioner, and Ortman, a state senator from Chanhassen, placed first in candidate straw polls cast by Republican Party of Minnesota activists gathered at the National Sports Center in Blaine on Saturday. Johnson beat five other Republican candidates for governor with 35 percent of the vote, with state Sen. Dave Thompson coming in second with 27 percent of the vote.

The first-term lawmaker is the fourth Republican to seek the party's nod to challenge Sen. Amy Klobuchar.