By acclamation, DFLers endorse Amy Klobuchar for fourth term in the U.S. Senate

U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar was endorsed by acclamation for a fourth term at the DFL’s convention on Friday, using her acceptance speech to frame the 2024 election as a battle against Republicans who want to “undo progress.”

Taking the stage to the beat of Dessa’s “The Bullpen,” Klobuchar told the crowd of party activists gathered in Duluth that Democrats need to go to the ballot box this fall to protect abortion rights, lower health care costs, fight tech companies and protect democracy following the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol three years ago.

“We have candidates and leaders in this country who want to tear things down rather than build things up,” Klobuchar told the delegates. “That is not who we are, that is not who I am.”

The senator cited her work in going after monopoly tech economic power, protecting election workers and backing infrastructure projects such as the Blatnik Bridge connecting Duluth and Superior, Wis. She said she “will not stop fighting until we codify Roe v. Wade into law.”

“This election is going to take all of us,” Klobuchar said. “The stakes are simply too high to sit this out.”

Klobuchar is the only Minnesota candidate running statewide this year. She will appear at the top of the ticket alongside President Joe Biden in an election that will also decide control of Congress and the Minnesota House.

Earlier this month, Republicans endorsed former NBA player-turned activist Royce White to take on Klobuchar, a surprise move after he raised little money leading into the party’s convention. White railed on Washington, D.C., in his acceptance speech, calling it “the swamp” and claiming Klobuchar “is at the head of it.”

Since his endorsement, White has faced criticism for spending thousands on retail, transportation and at a Miami strip club after losing the 2022 Republican primary for Minnesota’s Fifth District U.S. House seat. This week, Minnetrista businessman Joe Fraser jumped into the Republican August primary election for the U.S. Senate despite losing the endorsement, citing low turnout at the convention and issues in White’s past.

“After standing shoulder-to-shoulder with the Minnesota DFL as they move further to the left, it’s no surprise Amy Klobuchar has received their endorsement,” Fraser said in a statement Friday. “In the 18 years Klobuchar has been in office, we have watched as she further abandons our families, our values and our state in favor of Joe Biden, Chuck Schumer and the Democrats’ failed agenda.”

So far, national Republicans haven’t been targeting Minnesota as a possible pickup in the battle to control the U.S. Senate. Klobuchar had more than $5.7 million in her federal campaign account as of the end of March, her most recent filing with the FEC. She defeated GOP opponents in her past two races with more than 60% of the vote.

Klobuchar’s re-election bid this year is her first Senate race since her 2020 campaign for president, where she placed third in the New Hampshire primary behind Bernie Sanders and Pete Buttigieg. She ended her presidential campaign one day before Super Tuesday and simultaneously threw her support behind Biden, who went on to win Minnesota.

“She’s a great support to the president,” said delegate Aaron Biel, an engineer. “She served us wonderfully when she was running for president in the last cycle. I think she’s a positive force in politics.”

Klobuchar’s endorsement came on the first day of the DFL convention, where leaders called for unity heading into the November election despite fractures within the party over the ongoing war in Gaza.

Dan Engelhart, a union organizer and uncommitted delegate to the Democratic National Convention in August, attempted to challenge Klobuchar for the endorsement from the floor but did not get enough support to address the convention. He criticized Klobuchar for not responding to constituents calling for a permanent ceasefire in Gaza.

“She refuses to talk to her constituents about this issue and wants to just brush it away and forget it ever happened,” he said. “It’s just a matter of time before it catches up to her, which means it catches up to all of us, and it’s time to have that conversation.”

In her speech, Klobuchar addressed those frustrated with the ongoing conflict, saying, “I am with you” to those calling for a ceasefire, return of the hostages and a two-state solution.

Most delegates in attendance on Friday night supported Klobuchar’s bid for a fourth term, including Cathy Baumgartner of Olivia, Minn., who sees her as an antidote to increasingly polarized politics.

“She is so knowledgeable about every topic that is thrown at her,” said Baumgartner. “I think she tries to be calm and logical and fair and not be bombastic.”