Mark Dayton
Mark Dayton (born January 26, 1947, in Minneapolis, Minnesota) was the Democratic governor of Minnesota from 2011 to 2019.[1] He was first elected governor in 2010 and sworn in as Minnesota's 40th governor on January 3, 2011. Dayton ran for a second term as governor in 2014.[2] Mark Dayton won the general election on November 4, 2014. His term expired on January 7, 2019.[3]
Dayton became the state's first Democratic governor in two decades when he narrowly defeated Republican Tom Emmer in the 2010 election.[3]
Before becoming governor, Dayton served in the United States Senate for a single term. Dayton declined to run for re-election, and his seat was taken over by fellow Democrat Amy Klobuchar in January 2007.[4] He also ran unsuccessfully for U.S. Senate in 1982 and was elected Minnesota State Auditor in 1990.
Biography
Mark Dayton was born to Gwendolen May Brandt and Bruce Bliss Dayton. On his father's side, he is descended from George Dayton, founder of Dayton's Department Stores.
Growing up in Long Lake, Dayton studied at the Blake School in Hopkins. He went to college at Yale, where he played Division I hockey. While at Yale, he joined Delta Kappa Epsilon, where future president George W. Bush (R) was one of his fraternity brothers. After graduating, he spent two years teaching in New York City's public high schools. In 1971, he moved to Boston and spent time in social work.[5]
Education
- B.A. - Yale University cum laude (1969)
Elections
2018
- See also: Minnesota gubernatorial election, 2018
Mark Dayton did not file to run for re-election.
2014
- See also: Minnesota gubernatorial election, 2014
Dayton ran on the Democratic Party ticket for re-election as governor of Minnesota in 2014. Dayton secured the party's nomination in the August primary.
The gubernatorial race featured five tickets seeking election to a four-year term. Dayton ran with Tina Smith, who ran to replace Yvonne Prettner Solon as lieutenant governor. Dayton and Smith faced Republican challengers Jeff Johnson and Bill Kuisle. The general election ballot included Libertarian ticket Chris Holbrook and Chris Dock, Grassroots Party ticket Chris Wright and David Daniels and Independence Party ticket Hannah Nicollet and Tim Gieseke. The general election took place on November 4, 2014.
Results
Primary election
| Governor and Lieutenant Governor of Minnesota, Democratic Primary, 2014 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes | ||
 Mark Dayton/Tina Smith |
93% | 177,849 | ||
| Leslie Davis/Gregory K. Soderberg | 4.5% | 8,530 | ||
| Bill Dahn/James Vigliotti | 2.6% | 4,880 | ||
| Total Votes | 191,259 | |||
| Election results via Minnesota Secretary of State. | ||||
General election
| Governor and Lieutenant Governor of Minnesota, 2014 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Democratic | Mark Dayton/Tina Smith Incumbent |
50.1% | 989,113 | |
| Republican | Jeff Johnson/Bill Kuisle | 44.5% | 879,257 | |
| Independence | Hannah Nicollet/Tim Gieseke | 2.9% | 56,900 | |
| Grassroots Party | Chris Wright/David Daniels | 1.6% | 31,259 | |
| Libertarian | Chris Holbrook/Chris Dock | 0.9% | 18,082 | |
| Nonpartisan | Write-in votes | 0.1% | 1,134 | |
| Total Votes | 1,975,745 | |||
| Election results via Minnesota Secretary of State | ||||
Campaign media
|
Polls
General election
| Minnesota Governor's Race 2014 - All candidates | |||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Poll | Mark Dayton * (D) | Jeff Johnson (R) | Hannah Nicollet (I) | Chris Holbrook (L) | Chris Wright (Grassroots) | Undecided/Other | Margin of error | Sample size | |||||||||||
| KTSP/SurveyUSA (September 30-October 2, 2014) | 51% | 39% | 4% | 0% | 1% | 5% | +/-4.2 | 577 | |||||||||||
| Note: The polls above may not reflect all polls that have been conducted in this race. Those displayed are a random sampling chosen by Ballotpedia staff. If you would like to nominate another poll for inclusion in the table, send an email to [email protected]. | |||||||||||||||||||
| Minnesota Governor's Race 2014 - Dayton vs. Johnson | |||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Poll | Mark Dayton * (D) | Jeff Johnson (R) | Undecided/Other | Margin of error | Sample size | ||||||||||||||
| New York Times/CBS News/YouGov (October 16-23, 2014) | 50% | 41% | 10% | +/-3 | 2,430 | ||||||||||||||
| Rasmussen Reports (September 29-30, 2014) | 50% | 40% | 10% | +/-4 | 750 | ||||||||||||||
| Star Tribune (September 8-10, 2014) | 45% | 33% | 22% | +/-3.5 | 800 | ||||||||||||||
| Rasmussen Reports (August 13-14, 2014) | 49% | 41% | 10% | +/-4 | 750 | ||||||||||||||
| AVERAGES | 48.5% | 38.75% | 13% | +/-3.63 | 1,182.5 | ||||||||||||||
| Note: The polls above may not reflect all polls that have been conducted in this race. Those displayed are a random sampling chosen by Ballotpedia staff. If you would like to nominate another poll for inclusion in the table, send an email to [email protected]. | |||||||||||||||||||
Hypothetical match-ups
| Hypothetical match-ups for Governor of Minnesota | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Julie Rosen | Scott Honour | Kurt Zellers | Marty Seifert | Dave Thompson | Jeff Johnson | ||||
| Percent of the vote | 36% | 38% | 38% | 37% | 37% | 37% | |||
| Mark Dayton's percent of the vote | 48% | 48% | 48% | 48% | 48% | 48% | |||
| Undecided | 16% | 15% | 14% | 16% | 15% | 15% | |||
| Between October 27-29, 2013, Public Policy Polling surveyed 895 Minnesota voters. The respondents were given a series of hypothetical match-ups between Democratic incumbent Mark Dayton and six potential Republican candidates, and asked for which of the two candidates they would vote in the 2014 gubernatorial election. The margin of error for this survey is +/-3.3%[6] | |||||||||
Note: An asterisk (*) denotes incumbent status.
2010
Dayton narrowly defeated Margaret Anderson Kelliher in the August 10 primary by a margin of 41.0 percent to 40.1 percent.
On November 2, 2010, Mark Dayton/Yvonne Prettner Solon won election to the office of Governor/Lt. Governor of Minnesota. They defeated Tom Emmer/Annette Meeks (R), Tom Horner/James A. Mulder (I), Chris Wright/Edwin H. Engelmann (Grassroots), Farheen Hakeem/Dan Dittmann (Green), Ken Pentel/Erin Wallace (Ecology Democracy) and Linda S. Eno/Howard B. Hanson (Resource) in the general election.
| Governor/Lt. Governor of Minnesota, 2010 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Democratic | Mark Dayton/Yvonne Prettner Solon |
43.6% | 919,232 | |
| Republican | Tom Emmer/Annette Meeks | 43.2% | 910,462 | |
| Independence | Tom Horner/James A. Mulder | 11.9% | 251,487 | |
| Grassroots Party | Chris Wright/Edwin H. Engelmann | 0.4% | 7,516 | |
| Green | Farheen Hakeem/Dan Dittmann | 0.3% | 6,188 | |
| Ecology Democracy Party | Ken Pentel/Erin Wallace | 0.3% | 6,180 | |
| The Resource Party | Linda S. Eno/Howard B. Hanson | 0.2% | 4,092 | |
| Write-In | Various | 0.1% | 1,864 | |
| Total Votes | 2,107,021 | |||
| Election results via Minnesota Secretary of State. | ||||
Presidential preference
2016 presidential endorsement
✓ Dayton endorsed Hillary Clinton for the Democratic primary in the 2016 U.S. presidential election.[7]
- See also: Endorsements for Hillary Clinton
Campaign finance summary
Note: The finance data shown here comes from the disclosures required of candidates and parties. Depending on the election or state, this may represent only a portion of all the funds spent on their behalf. Satellite spending groups may or may not have expended funds related to the candidate or politician on whose page you are reading this disclaimer. Campaign finance data from elections may be incomplete. For elections to federal offices, complete data can be found at the FEC website. Click here for more on federal campaign finance law and here for more on state campaign finance law.
Noteworthy events
2017 budget conflict
- See also: Minnesota Legislature v. Dayton
In 2017, Gov. Mark Dayton (D) was involved in a conflict with the majority-Republican Minnesota State Legislature over the state's budget for the upcoming two years. With the threat of a July 1, 2017, shutdown looming, the legislature crafted a series of 10 budget bills that would lay out a $46 billion budget for the state.[8][9] Dayton signed the bills on May 30, 2017, but utilized his line-item veto power to eliminate all measures that would have funded the state legislature. Dayton said the veto was in response to a provision that would have tied funding for the state's Department of Revenue to the governor's signature on a $650 million tax cut which he has previously opposed. Dayton called the provision "last-minute legislative treachery" and offered to restore the legislature's funding in exchange for a series of budgetary concessions.
House Speaker Kurt Daudt (R) promised a legal challenge to the governor's veto.[9] On July 19, 2017, Judge John H. Guthmann ruled in favor of the legislature, finding that Dayton's veto was in violation of the state constitution's separation of powers clause because it prevented the legislature from functioning. Guthmann specified that, "The court’s ruling is by no means intended to prevent governors from issuing a line-item veto of the Legislature’s appropriation if they actually object to the manner in which the Legislature funded itself...No such concern exists in this case because the Governor concedes his vetoes had nothing to do with the Legislature’s appropriation."[10]
Dayton appealed the decision, which brought the case before the Minnesota Supreme Court.[11] Oral arguments were heard by the Supreme Court on August 28, 2017.[12] The court issued its ruling on September 8, 2017, overturning the lower court's decision by ruling that Dayton had acted within his constitutional authority. The ruling also halted the temporary legislative funding ordered by Judge Guthmann, arguing that Minnesota law does not permit courts to authorize funding. On February 22, 2018, the state legislature approved a new budget bill that restored its funding, which Dayton signed on February 26.[13][14]
Response to Syria policy
- Main article: U.S. governors and their responses to Syrian refugees
Following the Paris terrorist attacks on November 13, 2015, in which members of the Islamic State (ISIS) killed at least 129 people and wounded more than 350, reports surfaced showing that one of the terrorists responsible for the attacks in Paris may have come to France posing as a Syrian refugee.[15] Many governors issued statements of support or opposition to President Obama’s plan to allow 10,000 new Syrian refugees into the United States. Dayton had supported the resettlement of Syrian refugees in the state of Minnesota. He said:
| “ | My first priority is to protect the safety of the people of Minnesota. I have been assured by the White House that all refugees are subject to the highest level of security checks of any category of traveler to the United States.[16] | ” |
| —Gov. Mark Dayton[17] | ||
2013 tax bill
Dayton signed a bill increasing taxes by $2.1 billion on May 23, 2013, which included a $1.60 per pack increase on cigarette taxes and a higher tax rate for individuals earning at least $150,000 per year and couples earning $250,000 per year.[18][19] Dayton supported these tax increases in order to eliminate a $627 million budget deficit, boost funding for early education programs in the state, and pay for a portion of a new football stadium for the Minnesota Vikings. The governor had previously argued for tax increases during his gubernatorial campaign in 2010 and continued advocating for increases during legislative debates over the state budget. "My feeling is, everybody ought to pay their fair share of taxes. If you make more, you pay more; if you make less, you pay less," stated Dayton during a March 2013 speech in Duluth.[20]
2013 same-sex marriage law
In 2012, Dayton campaigned against the Minnesota Same-Sex Marriage Amendment that would have defined marriage in the Minnesota Constitution as between one man and one woman. The measure was defeated with 52.56 percent of voters against it.
On February 17, 2013, Sen. Scott Dibble (D) announced on a talk show that he would introduce a bill in the Minnesota State Senate to legalize same-sex marriage. Rep. Karen Clark (D) introduced the bill in the Minnesota House of Representatives.[21] The bills were enacted on August 1, 2013. In recognition, Dayton issued a proclamation declaring August 1 Freedom to Marry Day in Minnesota, which officially became the 12th state to recognize same-sex marriage.[22]
2011 government shutdown
Dayton was in office during the summer 2011 shutdown of the Minnesota government after he and the Republican-controlled legislature failed to agree on a plan to close the $5 billion deficit in the state's biennial budget. Dayton had called for tax increases on the state's highest earners, while Republicans called for spending cuts instead. The state government's non-essential services subsequently shut down on July 1, 2011, furloughing 23,000 state employees.[23]
2016 Democratic National Convention
- Delegate to the 2016 DNC (click to expand)
- See also: Democratic National Convention, 2016
Mark Dayton Democratic National Convention, 2016 Status: Superdelegate State: Minnesota Supporting: Hillary Clinton Delegates to the DNC 2016 Calendar and delegate rules overview • Types of delegates • State election law and delegates • Superdelegates by state Dayton was a superdelegate to the 2016 Democratic National Convention from Minnesota.[24] Dayton was one of 16 superdelegates from Minnesota. Superdelegates to the 2016 Democratic National Convention were not bound by the results of their state’s primary or caucus results to support a specific presidential candidate. Dayton supported Hillary Clinton for the Democratic nomination.[25]Clinton formally won the Democratic nomination for president on July 26, 2016.[26]
What is a superdelegate?
Superdelegates in 2016 were automatic delegates to the Democratic National Convention, meaning that, unlike regular delegates, they were not elected to this position. Also unlike regular delegates, they were not required to pledge their support to any presidential candidate, and they were not bound by the results of their state's presidential primary election or caucus. In 2016, superdelegates included members of the Democratic National Committee, Democratic members of Congress, Democratic governors, and distinguished party leaders, including former presidents and vice presidents. All superdelegates were free to support any presidential candidate of their choosing at the 2016 Democratic National Convention.[27]
Minnesota caucus results
- See also: Presidential election in Minnesota, 2016
Minnesota Democratic Caucus, 2016 Candidate Vote % Votes Delegates Hillary Clinton 38.1% 78,317 31 Bernie Sanders 61.2% 125,635 46 Martin O'Malley 0.1% 153 0 Roque De La Fuente 0% 53 0 Other 0.1% 213 0 Uncommitted 0.5% 1,067 0 Totals 205,438 77 Source: Minnesota Secretary of State and CNN Delegate allocation
Minnesota had 93 delegates at the 2016 Democratic National Convention. Of this total, 77 were pledged delegates. National party rules stipulated how Democratic delegates in all states were allocated. Pledged delegates were allocated to a candidate in proportion to the votes he or she received in a state's primary or caucus. A candidate was eligible to receive a share of the state's pledged delegates if he or she won at least 15 percent of the votes cast in the primary or caucus. There were three types of pledged Democratic delegates: congressional district delegates, at-large delegates, and party leaders and elected officials (PLEOs). Congressional district delegates were allocated proportionally based on the primary or caucus results in a given district. At-large and PLEO delegates were allocated proportionally based on statewide caucus results.[30][31]
Sixteen party leaders and elected officials served as unpledged delegates. These delegates were not required to adhere to the results of a state's primary or caucus.[30][32]
See also
| Minnesota | State Executive Elections | News and Analysis |
|---|---|---|
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|
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- Governor of Minnesota
- Minnesota gubernatorial election, 2014
- Governor
- Lieutenant Governor of Minnesota
External links
- Social media:
- Biographies:
- Executive actions:
- Fact-checking:
- Financial (state level):
- Interest group ratings:
- Issue positions:
- Public statements:
- Works by or about:
- Media appearances:
- News and commentary at the Minnesota Post
- U.S. Senate
- Biographies:
- Political profiles:
- Financial (federal level):
- Voting record:
Footnotes
- ↑ Project Vote Smart biographical profile of Mark Dayton
- ↑ The Associated Press, "Amid turbulent session, Gov. Mark Dayton looks to re-election," March 31, 2013
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Grand Forks Herald, "Minnesota Capitol Chatter: Democrats look to make governor history," January 1, 2016
- ↑ Time, "Mark Dayton: The Blunderer," April 14, 2006
- ↑ Office of the Minnesota Governor, "Governor Dayton," accessed August 7, 2013
- ↑ Public Policy Polling, "Franken and Dayton ahead of opponents heading into 2014 re-elections," October 31, 2013
- ↑ Michael Brodkorb, Politics Minnesota, "Dayton Endorses Hillary Clinton for President in 2016," November 13, 2013
- ↑ CBS Minnesota, "Gov. Dayton Says He’s ‘Genuinely Undecided’ On All Budget Bills," May 26, 2017
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 StarTribune, "Dayton signs 10 budget bills and tax cuts, but defunds Legislature," May 31, 2017
- ↑ StarTribune, "Judge strikes down Gov. Mark Dayton's veto of Legislature's budget; Dayton plans appeal," July 19, 2017
- ↑ KSTP 5, "Dayton Says He Will Appeal Judge's Ruling his Veto was Unconstitutional," July 19, 2017
- ↑ CBS Minnesota, "Arguments In Supreme Court Case Between Legislature, Dayton Begin Monday," August 27, 2017
- ↑ Twin Cities, "Legislature restores its $130M budget, concluding legal battle with Dayton," February 22, 2018
- ↑ CBS Minnesota, "Gov. Dayton Signs Legislative Budget Into Law," February 26, 2018
- ↑ Washington Post, "Were Syrian refugees involved in the Paris attacks? What we know and don’t know," November 17, 2015
- ↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ Pioneer Press, "Mark Dayton won't oppose Syrian refugees in Minnesota," November 16, 2015
- ↑ Minneapolis StarTribune, "Dayton signs $2.1 billion tax bill into law," May 23, 2013
- ↑ Wall Street Journal, "States' rift on taxes widens," May 23, 2013
- ↑ MPR News, "Dayton keeps up 'fair share' tax talk in Duluth," March 22, 2013
- ↑ CBS Minnesota, "Sen. Dibble plans to introduce gay marriage bill this week," February 18, 2013
- ↑ Lake Minnetonka Patch, "Governor Dayton declares Aug. 1 'Freedom to Marry Day' in Minnesota," August 1, 2013
- ↑ CNBC, "States beat budget deadlines, while Minnesota shuts down," July 1, 2011, accessed July 9, 2011
- ↑ Ballotpedia's list of superdelegates to the 2016 Democratic National Convention is based on our own research and lists provided by the Democratic National Committee to Vox.com in February 2016 and May 2016. If you think we made an error in identifying superdelegates, please send an email to [email protected].
- ↑ Five Thirty Eight, “The Endorsement Primary,” June 7, 2016
- ↑ To find out which candidate a superdelegate supported, Ballotpedia sought out public statements from the superdelegate in other media outlets and on social media. If we were unable to find a public statement that clearly articulated which candidate the superdelegate supported at the national convention, we listed that superdelegate as "unknown." If you believe we made an error in identifying which candidate a superdelegate supported, please email us at [email protected].
- ↑ Congressional Research Service, "The Presidential Nominating Process and the National Party Conventions, 2016: Frequently Asked Questions," December 30, 2015
- ↑ Politico, " Minnesota Presidential Caucuses Results," March 1, 2016
- ↑ The New York Times, "Minnesota Caucus Results," accessed March 2, 2016
- ↑ 30.0 30.1 Democratic National Committee, "2016 Democratic National Convention Delegate/Alternate Allocation," updated February 19, 2016
- ↑ The Green Papers, "2016 Democratic Convention," accessed May 7, 2021
- ↑ Democratic National Committee's Office of Party Affairs and Delegate Selection, "Unpledged Delegates -- By State," May 27, 2016
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Governor of Minnesota 2011-2019 |
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