No Section

Steelworkers back Dayton; (update) Nurses back Kelliher

DFL gubernatorial candidate Mark Dayton gets the nod from the Steelworkers Union

May 12, 2010 at 9:28PM

Former U.S. Sen. Mark Dayton has steel at his back as he runs for governor.

The United Steelworkers, with 21,000 working and retired members in Minnesota, gave the DFLer's bid the nod Wednesday.

"Mark not only supported issues that affected the mining communities of the Iron Range but supported issues that impacted working families all over our district," Charlie Olson, a Steelworker from the Iron Range, said in a release from Dayton's campaign announcing the endorsement.

Dayton also has the nod from AFSCME Council 5, a public employees union.

He is running in a primary along with House Speaker Margaret Anderson Kelliher, who won the DFL party' endorsement last month, and former House Minority Leader Matt Entenza.

Update:

Dayton may have steel but Minnesota House Speaker Margaret Anderson Kelliher has the nurses.

Last week, the Minnesota Nurses Association, which had backed Rep. Paul Thissen's failed bid for DFL endorsement in the governor's race, said they'd endorsed Kelliher's run for governor.

"She is the one who can deliver great healthcare for the people of Minnesota," Association President President Linda Hamilton said in a release. "In the coming months we'll be rolling up our sleeves and doing whatever we can to help Margaret become the first female governor in Minnesota history."