On a Saturday afternoon in July, a dozen or so locals sat under a gazebo in Central Park in downtown North Branch. "Wanted: Karl Marx" posters were stapled to the gazebo, and a welcome sign and a waving Don't Tread on Me flag greeted members of the Old North Church Tea Party to what was billed as a candidate forum.

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.

The 201 legislative seats on this November's general election ballot include 23 races featuring intra-party challenges that will be settled in Tuesday's partisan primary.

Voters in Minnesota House District 29A have a long track record of favoring Republican leadership. The area, which covers all of Dodge County and part of the city of Rochester, has elected GOP state Rep. Randy Demmer of Hayfield over DFL challengers handily since 2002.

Republicans are slated to squared off in a handful of competitive state legislative primary contests on August 10. In most instances, the GOP rivals are vying to take on a DFL incumbent in districts that look winnable.