At the DFL conference in Minnesota this weekend, old-school labor union support played a big role in nominating Margaret Anderson Kelliher as a gubernatorial candidate. The other major candidate at the convention was R.T. Rybak, who has been criticized in the past for dealings with Minneapolis labor. Kelliher had the support of former candidate with strong labor leanings Tom Rukavina, who previously dropped out to throw his support behind Kelliher, who he says is the best candidate for the job, and understands well the Democrat-Farmer-Labor logo. Approximately 82% of Rukavina's supporters endorsed Kelliher. Kelliher had the support of the AFL-CIO and the CWA; Rybak had only a single Teamsters local. Still, Kelliher faces a difficult primary in August, especially against Mark Dayton, who claims strong labor support among the AFSCME.
See "Union supporters put Kelliher over top at DFL Convention", Jon Collins, The Minnesota Independent, April 25, 2010