For more than a month, Target Companies has received flak from all over the county for giving $150,000 to MN Forward, a business backed group that supports Republican Tom Emmer in the governor's race.

On Tuesday, Mark Dayton, son of the Target company's founder and Emmer's DFL opponent, added his flack in response to reporters' questions.

Dayton: "Personally, I'm disappointed in that decision. I am very proud of what my father and his brothers, who are my uncles, and thousands of Minnesotans built as the Dayton-Hudson Corporation and Target is one of those subsidiaries. You know, my family's been out of the operating side of the business for about the last, almost the last 30 years. I don't hold any stock directly in Target in my own holdings. I don't know the percent of my family's holding in Target but I would estimate it is less than one percent of the actively traded shares in the company and certainly my family has no voice in the actions of Target corporation."

Reporter: "Had your family still be involved do you think that Target would have given to MN Forward."

Dayton: "I don't believe so. No."

Dayton made his remarks at a press event at which the Service Employees International Union announced it had endorsed the DFL candidate. SEIU workers repeatedly bashed Target and corporate contributions, although it should be noted that SEIU has made its own significant contributions to liberal groups (at least $60,000 so far this year.) But SEIU Local 26 president Javier Morillo-Alicea said Target has far more to give than the union does.

Meanwhile, Morillo-Alicea said the local was considering whether to join in a Target boycott. A few weeks ago, liberal Moveon.org said it would push a Target boycott, a small group of investors have joined in the backlash and there have been scattered protests across the county against the retail giant as well as Best Buy, which also gave to MN Forward.