Former senator Mark Dayton laments Republican victory
Former U.S. senator Mark Dayton, DFL candidate for governor, lamented the upset victory of Republican Scott Brown over Democrat Martha Coakley yesterday in the special U.S. Senate race in Massachusetts.
In defeating Coakley, hailed in the media as running an inept campaign, Brown is filling the seat held by the late senator Edward Kennedy for almost half a century.
“It’s a sad day yesterday when the people of Massachusetts, of all the states, with a man who devoted his life to health care, repudiated a bill that would have caused him to roll over in his grave,” said Dayton.
Dayton explained that Kennedy would have been appalled by the Senate health care bill — the lack of a public option, for instance.
Dayton was at the Capitol this morning to formally announce his campaign for governor.
While a handful of speakers introduced and endorsed Dayton at the beginning of the press conference, Dayton, after reading a prepared speech, took only three questions from the media before saying he had to leave for Duluth.
Dayton had a quick answer to the question whether he was running a class warfare-style campaign.
“You can read my lips; Tax the rich,” said Dayton in his speech.
But Dayton indicated he was responding, not trying to incite in his comments.
“I didn’t start the war,” he said of class against class.
In his speech, Dayton promised to increase funding for K-12 education in real dollars every year he’s governor.
“No exceptions, no excuses,” he said.
Republicans held an impromptu press conference after Dayton’s announcement, saying they intended to campaign hard on Dayton’s record — one of admitted failure, erratic behavior, Republicans said.
Still, Sen. Satveer Chaudhary, DFL-Fridley, who endorsed Dayton, praised Dayton for being willing to admit personal flaws.
That’s a difficult thing, said Chaudhary.
