Ramsey County Attorney Susan Gaertner endorses Entenza

Updated

By Baird Helgeson and Rachel E. Stassen-Berger

Ramsey County Attorney Susan Gaertner, a former DFL candidate for governor, has endorsed Matt Entenza in his bid for the state's highest-elected office.

The nod might not help much state-wide -- Gaertner's bid for the governor's office never really caught fire. But could give Entenza, a St. Paulite, a boost in his home county in the primary.

Unlike DFL rivals Margaret Anderson Kelliher and Mark Dayton, Entenza lacks major union endorsements or backing from any other high-profile public officials.

Gaertner, who will chair the Entenza campaign, said she had conversations with the other candidates for governor but would not say if they had solicited her endorsement.

When Gaertner dropped out, she told supporters, "What is clear is that if I stayed in the race I could hurt the chances of a woman surviving the primary. Because this is the first time in more than a century of effort that a woman has come this far, I don't want to be any part of keeping us from achieving this important milestone for Minnesota women."

But now, she doesn't mind bucking Kelliher, who would be the first woman in the governor's office if she wins, for Entenza.

"At times personal loyalty can and should cross gender lines," Gaertner said. She recalled that back 1998 when she was running for re-election, "all the Ramsey County DFL legislators supported my opponent, save one. And that one person was Matt Entenza."

She said her not is not pay back, it's loyalty.

"What this state needs is Matt Entenza," Gaertner said.