The chair of the state DFL said Saturday that he is pushing for a mayoral endorsement at Saturday's convention in Minneapolis.
"It really weakens our party if we don't have an endorsement in this mayoral race," said DFL chair Ken Martin outside the auditorium at the Minneapolis Convention Center. "So I'm very hopeful that by the end of the day we'll have an endorsed candidate for mayor."
Political insiders had speculated that the party may not endorse due to the number of high-profile candidates. Martin said he is "discouraged" by news he has heard that some campaigns are trying to block an endorsement.
"Candidates that have struck deals with other candidates that if they drop out that they're going to throw their support behind a certain candidate to block an endorsement," Martin elaborated.
Martin said since it appears that at least five DFLers may be heading into the November election, "it's even much more important in that scenario that the DFL party put its stamp of approval – its endorsement – behind a particular candidate."
