State GOP convention begins

Two thousand Minnesota Republicans have gathered in St. Cloud for their annual convention with plans to pick a U.S . Senate candidate and delegates to the national convention.

In opening remarks, Republican Party chair Pat Shortridge said he hopes the convention will bring an end to "Republican on Republican violence," the type of intra-party fights that accompany any contested race.

The battle for both the Senate and the national delegates are heavily contested as backers of libertarian minded Ron Paul and so-called 'establishment' Republicans and supporters of presumed presidential nominee Mitt Romney fight for power.

Paul, who is expected to address the convention late Friday, has backed state Rep. Kurt Bills in the Senate race, a nod that is expected to give the freshman a boost at the convention. Veterans Pete Hegseth and Dan Severson for, like Bills, are vying for the GOP nod to face Democratic U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar in the fall.

The convention, like many political gatherings, started out with a few bumps. Delegates complained that finding parking near the St. Cloud convention hall was a troubled affair, involving long walks and much walking.

Once they got to the hall, delegates settled in for a long day. Nearly two hours in, they were still discussing rules and procedures.

Delegates complained that they hadn't been mailed the convention's important but rather dry rule books -- "Print some dang rules!" on delegate shouted from the floor -- but, in a sign of cooperation, they did approve the appointment of co-chairs of the convention, which could have been contentious.

To track every bit of action, join us on Twitter. This Hot Disher is tweet @rachelsb and you can find a full list of people who plan to tweet during the convention here.