Emmer endorsed by Republicans

State Rep. Tom Emmer of Delano has been officially endorsed by the Republican Party as a candidate for Minnesota governor.

Previously, delegates to the party’s state convention in Minneapolis gave 53 percent of their first ballots to Emmer and 43 percent to Seifert, with other candidates splitting the rest. It takes  at least 60 percent of the 1,988 voting delegates to win endorsement.

Marty Seifert has vowed to leave the race instead of moving on to an August primary, which will offer a three-way Democratic race.

Republican Party of Minnesota Chairman Tony Sutton today issued the following statement regarding the endorsement of Rep. Tom Emmer for governor and Annette Meeks for lieutenant governor.

“Tom Emmer will be an outstanding governor for the great state of Minnesota.  Republicans stand united behind Tom Emmer and his agenda of lower taxes, limited sensible government, and job creation.  Tom will appeal to Republicans, independents, and disaffected Democrats who deserve better than the big spending and big taxes offered by all of the DFL gubernatorial candidates.  2010 is going to be a great year for Minnesota Republicans, and voters couldn’t have a clearer choice this fall.  As Republicans unite today, we could not be more optimistic about an Emmer-Meeks victory against a divided DFL Party.”