Robyne Robinson says Entenza campaign got minorities voting

It's over for Matt Entenza and Robyne Robinson

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By about 9:24 p.m., it was all over for the Matt Entenza campaign. Faces were long and tears were shed as Entenza conceded defeat in a gracious speech at his campaign headquarters in St. Paul Tuesday night.

"It is with tremendous regret that I know that I will not be the next governor of Minnesota," Entenza said.

Entenza's running mate, former Fox 9 anchor Robyne Robinson, put a positive spin on the defeat. "I feel very, very happy," Robinson told City Pages "The reason I'm happy is because it's not really about a candidate winning. What Matt Entenza did is help people to continue to hope for a democracy that represents everyone. The campaign really awakened the Somali, Hmong, and African-American communities."

Campaign headquarters was crowded with volunteers--many of them Hmong and African-American. Entenza had reached out to minorities, and supporters said they felt pained by the defeat.

"I think the country at large is not ready for diversity," said Mannie Lee, a Hmong woman from Brooklyn Park. "He supports minorities and the majority are not ready for that."

"I'm just a little disappointed by the all-around outcome," said an African-American man from Brooklyn Park who identified himself only as Mr. Roussel. "We put a lot of work into these numbers."