Star Tribune reporter Jenna Ross sends this update from the field.

To a steady blast of beeps from party-favor horns, Horner walked to the podium to thank his supporters and acknowledge Rob Hahn's "spirited campaign." His wife and three children stood beside him.

He referenced the Jet Blue pilot who had made the news that morning for being fed up.

"I think there are a lot of people in Minnesota who feel like that," he said. "So if I'm the emergency slide out to the tarmac, so be it."