Who will be the next governor?

Talk about it

One of the big questions that participants in the February 2 caucuses will talk about is: Who should be Minnesota’s next governor?

Here is a quick snapshot of the candidates:

Democrats

Tom Bakk. State senator from Cook and chairman of the Senate Taxes Committee.

Mark Dayton. Former state auditor and former U.S. senator comes from one of the state’s most famous business families.

Matt Entenza. Former state House minority leader from St. Paul, was forced out of the 2006 attorney general race.

Susan Gaertner. Ramsey County attorney. An honors graduate from the University of Minnesota Law School.

Steve Kelley. Former state senator from Hopkins mostly known for his work on education and his 2006 attorney general run.

Margaret Anderson Kelliher. Two terms as House speaker gave the Minneapolis resident lots of notoriety.

John Marty. Roseville state senator known for efforts to tighten politicians’ ethics laws ran for governor once before.

Tom Rukavina. Perhaps the most colorful state representative, the Virginia resident is House higher education and workforce chairman.

R.T. Rybak. Minneapolis mayor who won a second term this past November.

Paul Thissen. Four-term state representative from Minneapolis is best known for his work on health-care legislation.

Ole Savior. It would not be an election without the Minneapolis artist running for a statewide office.

Felix Montez. Minnesota’s voice for the small, “L” Libertarian.

Republicans

Tom Emmer. A Delano state representative, he’s one of the House’s most prolific speakers and one of its most conservative members.

Bill Haas. Ex-state representative and former mayor of Champlin.

David Hann. State senator from Eden Prairie has become a conservative spokesman in his two terms.

Philip Herwig. The first to file paperwork to run. He’s a farmer and home renovation contractor from Milaca.

Marty Seifert. A Marshall state representative and House minority leader, Seifert was the first big-name Republican to get into the race.

Leslie Davis. Not normally a Republican, Davis is a perennial candidate, environmentalist and businessman.

Robert Carney. A former Minneapolis mayoral candidate.

Independents

Tom Horner. Long-time GOP strategist and life-long moderate Republican.

John Uldrich. Father of state IP chairman Jack Uldrich. From Minneapolis.

Rahn Workcuff. Disabled United States Air Force veteran and frequent candidate.

Joe Repya. Retired U.S. Army lieutenant from Eagan. Served in three wars.

Rob Hahn. St. Paul businessman and author. Publisher of two niche newspapers.

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