In Minnesota, a legitimate three-way race for governor seemed fated. For one, Minnesota has a history of electing Jesse Ventura, an outsider who was not affiliated with either political party, to the governor's mansion. Secondly, voters nationwide are fed up with politicians and with both political parties. And after current Governor Tim Pawlenty announced he would not be seeking an additional term, presumably because he has his eyes on the Republican presidential nomination in 2012, early polling seemed to indicate a three-way race.
Mark Dayton, a scion who's running with Minnesota's Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party (affiliated with the national Democratic Party) and who had, by most accounts, a rather uninspiring and lackluster career in the United States Senate, has pulled ahead of Tom Emmer, the Republican candidate. Independence Party candidate Tom Horner, meanwhile, has seen a slight surge of support after weeks of stagnation behind his two opponents.
Dayton has spent more money, much from his personal wealth, than both of his opponents, and that has allowed him to maintain the momentum his campaign has built in recent weeks. Last week, Barack Obama campaigned on his behalf at the University of Minnesota.
Homer was hoping that by this time polls would show him within striking distance of Dayton and Emmer, but by most public accounts, he seems to be underperforming--at least compared to the benchmark the Horner campaign set a month ago.