Nevermind. AFL-CIO makes no endorsement in the governor's race

It was predicted to be a close call and it turned out there was no call at all.

After a lengthy afternoon meeting, the Minnesota AFL-CIO political committee decided Wednesday not to endorse anyone in the governor's race for now.

The nod had been DFL candidate Margaret Anderson Kelliher's to lose. She has the majority of AFL-CIO member unions in her corner but DFLer Mark Dayton has some strong labor backers, too. The decision to endorse would have taken a super majority -- two-thirds of the committee's about 70 members -- and she lacked that measure of support.

Even before the meeting DFL candidate Mark Dayton suggested the fix was in for Kelliher.

He, like many members of the media, had seen a mid-morning press release from the union that shouted: "MINNESOTA AFL-CIO ENDORSES MARGARET ANDERSON KELLIHER FOR GOVERNOR."

"It certainly raised serious questions in my mind," said Dayton, who screened with the union to ask for their endorsement Wednesday afternoon.

Moments after the original release went out, AFL-CIO spokesman Chris Shields retracted it. He said it was one of five or six press releases he had prepared to cover every scenario. Rather than saving it -- he hit send and out it went to the state's media. He was, as he said on Twitter, an hour later "having a very bad day." (Many PR people -- and even reporters -- write out various scenarios so they can be ready no matter what the news.The universal paranoia is that those pre-writes will go live inadvertently.)

But she didn't.

After the candidates left, the committee met behind closed doors to discuss what to do.

Although non-committee members were not allowed inside, the thin door did let out a few of the members' words. There was talk possibly picking a candidate who ended up losing the primary compounding the toe stepping that that had already happened with the inadvertent release. One committee member said "we've got two really good candidates" in Kelliher and Dayton (the IP's Tom Horner also met with the group but stood little chance of endorsement) and talk of lack of necessity to pick among them.

In the end, they didn't.

"After a careful screening of candidates, the unions of the Minnesota AFL-CIO decided not to endorse a candidate at this time," the correct, afternoon AFL-CIO release said. "While the Minnesota AFL-CIO did not endorse a candidate; union members are united to [Republican] defeat Tom Emmer."