Former VP Mondale endorses Kelliher

Former Vice President Walter Mondale endorsed House Speaker Margaret Anderson Kelliher's bid for governor, giving her campaign a powerful boost.

In a fundraising, Mondale said Kelliher is the most electable and the best prepared to become governor.

Mondale, who is an autodelegate to the DFL's April 23-25 convention, has become a co-chair of Kelliher's campaign along with long-time Kelliher supporter Joan Growe, the former Minnesota Secretary of State.

Kelliher, who appears to be leading in delegate counts going into the convention, has pledged to drop out of the race if she does not win her party's nod.

Here's the letter:

As co-chairs of the Margaret for Governor campaign, we want to extend our deepest thanks for your support. You have been part of this team since the beginning and it is because of your early contribution that Margaret is the leading candidate for the DFL endorsement. Thank you.

It's not enough to just elect a DFL candidate in November. We need a DFL candidate who is ready to be governor the day after the election. On November 3rd, Minnesota's next governor will have only 12 weeks to prepare the next biennial budget. After balancing three statewide budgets as a member of the House Ways & Means committee and as Speaker of the House, Margaret is the only candidate in the race with the experience to do that successfully.

Thank you for being such a strong supporter of Margaret's campaign. Your ongoing investment – $25, $50, $100, $250 or more – will help her continue to lead this race.

We support Margaret because she is the candidate who can unite rural, urban and suburban areas of Minnesota. We need a candidate who can win in every corner of the state. As Speaker of the House, Margaret has proven she knows how to win in tough districts. As leader of the House DFL Caucus in 2006, she led the campaign that made the largest legislative gains for the DFL in decades and took back the House from Republican control. Then two years later, she increased that DFL majority.

The results of Margaret's inclusive style of leadership have been remarkable: a veto override that secured the first new investments in decades for our transportation infrastructure and made our roads and bridges safer, the passage of the Legacy Amendment to preserve our water, our outdoors and our cultural history, and most recently, the passage of a Jobs Bill that will put tens of thousands of Minnesotans back to work.

Margaret is the best candidate to be governor because she recognizes leadership is not about scoring political points – it is about improving people's lives.

Please consider making one more contribution before the DFL state convention begins on April 23rd. Your donation will not only ensure Margaret can run a winning endorsement campaign, but you will help Margaret be well-positioned for an expensive Primary race against selffunding candidates. Can Margaret count on you to contribute $25, $50, $100, $250 or any amount you can afford before April 23rd?