Minneapolis (Jan. 27, 2010) – In a first of its kind debate the election season, 20 Gubernatorial Candidates representing the three major parties in Minnesota shared the stage at the Sheraton Bloomington, Minneapolis South for the 2010 Major Parties Gubernatorial Debate hosted by the Minnesota News Council and the League of Women Voters Minnesota in cooperation with the Minnesota Newspaper Association.

The candidates taking part included 10 DFL candidates (Tom Bakk, Mark Dayton, Susan Gaertner, Steve Kelley, Margaret Anderson Kelliher, John Marty, Tom Rukavina, R.T. Rybak, Ole Savior, Paul Thissen), six GOP candidates (Leslie Davis, Tom Emmer, Bill Haas, David Hann, Phil Herwig, Marty Seifert) and four IP candidates (Rob Hahn, Tom Horner, John Uldrich, Rahn Workcuff).

“The Minnesota News Council is excited to be partnering with the League of Women Voters Minnesota to put on this important educational event,” said Sarah Bauer, Executive Director for the Minnesota News Council. “The Minnesota News Council is committed to civic engagement and involvement; bringing together the public and the Minnesota media to provide unique educational opportunities.”

“We are especially proud of the level of involvement in this debate by members of the blogging and new media community,” said Bauer. “The Minnesota News Council is committed to making news event like this accessible to all Minnesotans, through the nearly 400 weekly and daily newspapers in Minnesota, broadcast television, radio, blogs, online news outlets, and live-streaming.”

VIEW photos from the 2010 Major Parties Gubernatorial Debate

LISTEN to the Minnesota Public Radio rebroadcast of the Debate

READ an in-depth recap of the debate and issues covered

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