Democrats spent heavily on Minnesota governor's race

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• Minnesota GOP won House with fewer dollars than DFL

ST. PAUL — A competitive primary and wealthy candidates made Democrats the big spenders in a Minnesota governor's race that had the party on the winning end.

Two Democratic candidates, including eventual winner Mark Dayton, combined to top the $10 million mark. Dayton primary rival Matt Entenza led the field with $5.7 million in spending, most of it his own.

Dayton clocked in at $4.7 million last year, according to reports made public Tuesday by state campaign finance regulators. More than 70 percent was from personal loans.

Republican nominee Tom Emmer, who didn't have a big-name primary opponent, spent just shy of $2.8 million. He lost to Dayton by about 9,000 votes.

Another Democrat, former House Speaker Margaret Anderson Kelliher, spent $1.3 million of donor money on her campaign.

A Democratic-backed independent group spent $5.7 million on the race for Minnesota governor last year, mainly on TV ads attacking Republican Tom Emmer.

Campaign regulators posted year-end financial reports today from political funds including the Alliance for a Better Minnesota.

Dayton beat Emmer after a recount in a race largely shaped by spending by outside groups.

Alliance for a Better Minnesota reported raising almost $6 million from two affiliated political funds backed by wealthy donors, unions and the Democratic Governors Association.

Two independent groups spent against Dayton on Emmer's behalf.

Minnesota's Future sank $1.4 million into the race, mostly for ads against Dayton and Independence Party candidate Tom Horner.

MN Forward spent almost $1.8 million. The group got money from businesses including Target Corp. and Best Buy Co.

Tags: mn politics, mn legislature, elections 2010, updates, politics, legislature, republicans, democrats, news