While I'm happy Madia won, I would expect Bonoff supporters to be a bit bitter about how the DFL's "ABIDE!" meatgrinder endorsement process forced Bonoff out even after delegates refused to give Madia 60% of their vote after eight grueling rounds of voting.

Even after twenty years of living in Minnesota I'm still aghast at how contrary and profoundly anti-democratic the DFL nominating process is. A CD that was for all practical purposes deadlocked is forced (by the rules) to endorse, even though the delegates represent only the tiniest fraction of actual Democrats in the CD.

I believe Madia will be a better candidate than Bonoff, but as a St. Paulite that wasn't my choice to make. Thanks to the DFL, that choice doesn't belong to the rank and file Democrats in the 3rd CD either.

This should have been decided by the primary voters in September.

I applaud the DNC who decided to side with the thousands of caucus goers and against the wishes of a small handful of super delegates who wanted to postpone this decision and jeopardize the fall election.

Well this is one district that the NRCC won't have to worry about. This is a reflection of the Dem presidential primary - a candidate fueled by a bunch of out-of-touch leftists choosing a candidate who is utterly unelectable in the general election. I'll now have to hold my nose and vote for Paulsen.

It was not a handful of 'super delegates' that held out yesterday at the convention and possibly force a primary race in September. I am I state delegate and I reside in senate district 46. I am from Brooklyn Center, which is part of CD3, although the author of the article did not mention that. I was elected state delegate from my sub caucus, Franken/Bonoff/Healthcare/Education, at our SD convention last month. I promised my fellow caucus delegates that I would represent their views and values and hold firm to being a Terri Bonoff supporter. My alternate and I held fast through all eight votes because we truly believe in Terri! Terri has shown us that she can bring political unity and can win the swing votes. She is also a very good state senator who has shown us that she can accomplish a lot such as helping convince other senators to override the transportation Veto. Ashwin Madia could not make those claims and did not share our views on Education and Healthcare. He is however a very charismatic speaker. He does have a lot of support, and not just from "out-of-touch leftists" as John stated. Ashwin has great ability and potential and with our help, he can be the next congressional representative from CD3. This convention is not the end of the race it is just the beginning. Now we have the job of helping Ashwin polish his platform, getting him elected and doing the same for the US senate seat in June. If we want change, real change, we need to communicate with our elected officials regarding how we feel about the issues and innovative ways to fix them. They are after all representing US, not us representing them. It does no good to stick our heads in the sand, “plug our noses,” and vote for the other person just because our preferred candidate was not nominated.

It was not a handful of 'super delegates' that held out yesterday at the convention and possibly force a primary race in September. I am I state delegate and I reside in senate district 46. I am from Brooklyn Center, which is part of CD3, although the author of the article did not mention that. I was elected state delegate from my sub caucus, Franken/Bonoff/Healthcare/Education, at our SD convention last month. I promised my fellow caucus delegates that I would represent their views and values and hold firm to being a Terri Bonoff supporter. My alternate and I held fast through all eight votes because we truly believe in Terri! Terri has shown us that she can bring political unity and can win the swing votes. She is also a very good state senator who has shown us that she can accomplish a lot such as helping convince other senators to override the transportation Veto. Ashwin Madia could not make those claims and did not share our views on Education and Healthcare. He is however a very charismatic speaker. He does have a lot of support, and not just from "out-of-touch leftists" as John stated. Ashwin has great ability and potential and with our help, he can be the next congressional representative from CD3. This convention is not the end of the race it is just the beginning. Now we have the job of helping Ashwin polish his platform, getting him elected and doing the same for the US senate seat in June. If we want change, real change, we need to communicate with our elected officials regarding how we feel about the issues and innovative ways to fix them. They are after all representing US, not us representing them. It does no good to stick our heads in the sand, “plug our noses,” and vote for the other person just because our preferred candidate was not nominated.

If this process is "undemocratic" then our whole system is. Delegates to the Senate District conventions were elected at the precinct level at the caucuses. Delegates to the Congessional District and State conventions were elected at the Senate District conventions. The delegates were "pledged" to support a particular candidate and to represent the views of those who elected them. If someone chooses not to participate in the caucuses, then too bad. They are open to all.

If representation like this is "undemocratic" then our whole system of representation is flawed. It is a microcosm of what happens in our Representative Republic. (The US is *not* a "true democracy".) I would also ask John what issues specifically Madia is "out-of-touch" on and how Paulsen (or Terri Bonoff for the matter) is more "in-touch". Madia never trailed. He led the balloting from the very first ballot.

To choose candidates via primary would mean that both campaigns would have to expend the resources necessary in a full-blown election prior to getting an endorsement. This would also lengthen an already too long election cycle.

In any event, congratulations to Ashwin Madia and his supporters, and congratulations to Terri Bonoff and her supporters as well. This race was conducted by both groups in a very classy manner. I am proud of both of them.

Paragraph breaks, Jennie, paragraph breaks.

As a delegate to the district convention, I took seriously my representation of more than just my initial views of the candidates. I studied the position statements of the CD3 candidates, spent time asking questions of each candidate, attended "links" and other gatherings at which the candidates spoke and fielded questions. It was only after this investigation that I decided on a candidate to support.

Any democrat in the district also could attend the same gatherings, Links meetings, read the web sites of the candidates and call them or e-mail the with any questions. It truly is a great way to make an informed decision.

In general, delegates do take their positions seriously. Primaries are too often based on 30-second sound bites and a vote cast without much thought. The caucus system does allow for a more careful examination of the candidate and is open to anyone who is willing to devote some time in making their decision.

From my understanding, everyone is invited to DFL Links.