DFLers Otto, Swanson hold onto auditor, AG jobs; Simon wins secretary of state

The DFL prevailed in its effort to hold three constitutional offices — attorney general, state auditor and secretary of state — to help maintain its one-party grip on the executive branch.

Rep. Steve Simon, DFL-Hopkins, defeated former Rep. Dan Severson, a Republican who represented Sauk Rapids, in a tight secretary of state race.

The other two constitutional races showed DFL Attorney General Lori Swanson and State Auditor Rebecca Otto easily keeping their seats.

Simon and Severson had been locked in a dead heat most of Tuesday before Simon started to pull away. With 99 percent of the precincts reporting Wednesday morning, Simon had 47 percent of the vote while Severson had slightly less than 46 percent -- a difference of nearly 22,000 votes.

The post as overseer of elections has been at the forefront of high-stakes U.S. Senate and gubernatorial election recounts in 2008 and 2010. Outgoing Secretary of State Mark Ritchie, a member of the DFL Party, also presided over voting on two constitutional amendments in 2012. During his tenure, Ritchie faced several legal challenges by critics who said he overstepped constitutional bounds by changing language to the proposed 2012 amendments and for pushing through an online voter registration feature without legislative approval.

For his part, Simon stressed he would make sure as many people as are eligible get to vote. He pushed for Minnesota to adopt wider use of early voting and make sure Minnesotans know they can register to vote when they apply or renew driver's licenses.

In his campaign, Severson repeatedly said he believes there is fraud in Minnesota's election system and that election protection is key. Once a backer of requiring Minnesotans to have a photo ID to vote, he pitched a new "express lane" voting system that would allow Minnesotans willing to present identification to skip through Election Day lines.

In the other two executive branch races, the Star Tribune called the attorney general and state auditor races late Tuesday. In the attorney general race, Swanson, with 99 percent of precincts reporting, was ahead of Republican state Sen. Scott Newman, 53 percent to 39 percent.

Newman, of Hutchinson, said the recent case of Community Action of Minnesota is a prime example of Swanson using her post to protect DFL lawmakers. A state audit found that leaders of Community Action, an antipoverty nonprofit supported by public dollars, had misspent more than $800,000 in taxpayer money. Newman said it is the job of the attorney general to investigate, but that Swanson has neglected to do so. Swanson said her office has acted as legal counsel to the Department of Human Services, which has taken the lead in that investigation.

Swanson has sought to be an advocate for consumers, suing bill collectors and for-profit colleges. She has been criticized by opponents who say she has politicized her post, a charge she has denied.

For state auditor, DFL incumbent Rebecca Otto was ahead of Republican Randy Gilbert, once Long Lake's mayor, with more than 51 percent to Gilbert's 40 percent with all but 1 percent of the state's precincts yet to report Wednesday morning.