Tag: Patricia Torres Ray

The endorsement is functionally a symbolic gesture, since all five candidates will appear on the Aug. 14 primary ballot no matter what happens. But official party backing still confers some status in the heavily Democratic Fifth District, which includes all of Minneapolis as well as St. Louis Park, Edina, Golden Valley, Robbinsdale and other nearby suburbs. U.S. Rep. Keith Ellison has represented the district since 2003 but decided this month to run for state attorney general. That set off a scramble among would-be successors, including three with some experience at the State Capitol: former House Speaker Margaret Anderson Kelliher, state Rep. Ilhan Omar and state Sen. Patricia Torres Ray, all of Minneapolis. The other two candidates filed to run as DFLers are Jamal Abdulahi of Minneapolis, president of a health care information startup and the founder of the DFL Somali-American Caucus, and Frank Nelson Drake of Edina, a Realtor who was the Republican candidate against Ellison in 2016. There are three candidates in the Republican primary: Jennifer Zielinski, an Allina Health employee who got the party endorsement; Christopher Chamberlin, a St. Anderson Kelliher, president and CEO of the Minnesota High Tech Association, served six terms in the state House from 1999 to 2010, including two as speaker. She was the DFL-endorsed candidate for governor in 2010 but lost the primary to Mark Dayton. Though a relative newcomer to state politics, she's had national media attention for her story of coming to the U.S. as a refugee and becoming the first Somali-American to serve in any state legislature. Torres Ray, the first Latina to serve in the Minnesota Senate, was first elected in 2006.

The first big political shake-up happened around noon when DFL U.S. House Rep. Keith Ellison came to the Minnesota Secretary of State's office to file for Minnesota attorney general, throwing a wild card into that race and opening the floodgates to candidates for Ellison's 5th District congressional seat. A few hours after Ellison's filing, state Rep. Ilhan Omar, DFL-Minneapolis, signed up to replace him. Candidates had until 5 p.m. to file. "There's things you don't control, who files and who doesn't file," DFL Party chair Ken Martin said early Tuesday as the intrigue rose. He said he would not endorse any candidate running for his congressional seat. Busy couple of days for the hardworking @MNSecofState staff #mn2018 pic.twitter.com/lPkR2KolMS — Brian Bakst (@Stowydad) June 5, 2018 Outside of the attorney general and governor's races,other filings of interest included Joe Radinovich, a former DFL state representative running for the 8th District congressional seat in what will be a closely watched Democratic primary. "I set out to win this race, and I've got my eye on that prize," said Murphy, who right now is facing Swanson and U.S. House Rep. Tim Walz in the Aug. 14 DFL primary. "I've learned over and over again, from my very first race, that competition makes me better and I will be a stronger candidate winning the primary because others are in this race." Some of those who filed on Tuesday Governor • State Rep. Erin Murphy, DFL • Ex-Gov. Tim Pawlenty Republican Attorney general • U.S. House Rep. Keith Ellison, DFL • Ex-Attorney General Mike Hatch, DFL • State Rep. Debra Hilstrom, DFL • Ex-state Sen. Bob Lessard, GOP • Ex-Commerce Commissioner Mike Rothman, DFL 5th Congressional District • Jamal Abdulahi, DFL • Bob "Again" Carney, Jr., GOP • State Sen. Bobby Joe Champion, DFL • Frank Drake, DFL, ran against Ellison as a Republican in 2016 • Kim Ellison, ex-wife of Keith Ellison, DFL • Ex-Ramsey County Attorney Tom Foley, DFL • Ex-Minnesota House Speaker Margaret Anderson Kelliher, DFL • State Rep. Ilhan Omar, DFL • Ex-state Sen. Julie Sabo, DFL • State Sen. Patricia Torres Ray, DFL 8th Congressional District • Ex-state Rep. Joe Radinovich, DFL • Pete Stauber, GOP • Harry Robb Welty, GOP • Kirsten Kennedy, DFL • Michelle D. Lee, DFL • Jason Metsa, DFL • Soren Christian Sorensen, DFL Rep. Ilan Omar's Minnesota House seat • Minneapolis School Board member Mohamud Noor, DFL • Peter Wagenius, DFL • Joseph Patiño, GOP • Fadumo Taani, GOP • Mohammadkheir (Mo) Gaba, DFL • Angelo Jaramillo, DFL • Cordelia Pierson, DFL • Joshua Preston, DFL • Haaris Pasha, DFL Rep. Debra Hilstrom's Minnesota House seat • Robert Marvin, GOP • Samantha Vang, DFL • Cindy Yang, DFL • Alexander Koenig, DFL