The subjects of Minnesota’s gubernatorial recount — Republican Tom Emmer and Democrat Mark Dayton — will emerge from the shadows today and take center stage. Emmer will hold a press conference at 1 p.m. at the State Capitol, which The UpTake will bring you live. After announcing his transitional leadership team yesterday, Dayton will meet behind closed doors with current Governor Tim Pawlenty this afternoon, and we hope to bring you some nugget of news. Dayton continues to lead the recount by 8,751 votes, or 0.4153 percent, from last Tuesday’s election. Follow the tally here. In preparation for a probably statewide recount, canvassing boards are meeting today in Anoka (Anoka County), Red Wing (Goodhue County), Center City (Chisago) and Winona (Winona County). You can watch footage from yesterday’s canvassing board meeting at Hennepin County and Scott County, and interviews afterwards with lead attorneys David Lillehaug (Dayton) and Tony Trimble (Emmer).
Speaking of recounts, later today we’ll also bring you an interview with MinnPost’s Jay Weiner, who covered the 2008 Al Franken-Norm Coleman Senatorial recount, and wrote about it in his new book “This is Not Florida: How Al Franken Won the Minnesota Senate Recount.”
In other political news, Housing and Urban Development Secretary Shaun Donovan spoke yesterday at the Homes for All Conference in St. Paul, alongside Franken and Congressman Keith Ellison, who announced the Rental Housing Revitalization Act. And President Obama was in India, seeking “win-win” trade between the two countries, announcing his support for India to gain a permanent chair on the United Nations Security Council, and honoring the Mumbai terrorist attack victims.
