The gap between Democrat Mark Dayton and Republican Tom Emmer continues to widen in the Minnesota Gubernatorial recount according to numbers from the Dayton campaign. With 84.1% of the vote recounted, Dayton campaign workers estimate their candidate’s lead has grown from the 8,770 votes verified by the State Canvassing Board to 9,031 votes. The totals differ from the Secretary of State’s website which removes challenged ballots each candidate’s total. The Secretary of State website shows only a net gain of three votes for Dayton. The estimate from the Dayton campaign is based upon pre-challenge numbers. In the 2008 statewide US Senate recount those pre-challenge numbers proved to be more than 95% accurate in predicting the final determination of the State Canvassing Board’s totals.

The Dayton campaign also says that there is also a typo on the Secretary of State site that adds a net of 62 votes to Dayton in Dakota Hastings W-3 P-1. The only change that this typo forces on the Secretary of State site is that the +3 vote Dayton net vote gain should really read as a 59 vote Emmer vote gain (all pre challenge).

The Dayton campaign says there have been 2,586 frivolous challenges. 1,839 of them in Hennepin County with the Emmer campaign responsible for 1,821 as opposed to 18 from the Dayton campaign. A large number of these frivolous challenges (1,382) have occurred in the city of Minneapolis with the Emmer campaign responsible for all but 5 of them (1,377).

Overall the Emmer campaign has made 94.3% of all challenges and 98.4% of all frivolous challenges so far.

The UpTake has also requested vote totals from The Emmer campaign, but it has not responded to our request.

Totals from the Dayton campaign below: