Dutcher Confirmed, FINALLY!

I have been posting for several weeks that Judi Dutcher will be the Ying to Mike Hatch's Yang. It has been officially confirmed on the Hatch for Governor website, today:

I promised to recruit a lieutenant governor who would make an excellent governor, and with Judi Dutcher, I accomplished this task. Judi is a big plus for the campaign. She won two statewide elections as Auditor and earned kudos from local government and state officials for her energy, wit, and courage. She was one of the first public officials to challenge the extreme elements that have taken control of the Republican Party, and she eventually had to leave the party to join the Democrats. She was warmly embraced by the Democrats and was supported by a broad and deep network of people in her 2002 gubernatorial bid. Over the past four years, she has served as Chief Executive Officer of the Minnesota Community Foundation, a large philanthropic institution that serves Greater Minnesota. As CEO, Judi witnessed the impact of the Governor's budget cuts to rural communities. For instance, her foundation purchased a fire truck for Fairmont because the Governor's cuts gutted the city's public safety budget. In other communities, the foundation helped with infrastructure items as basic as sidewalks because of the Pawlenty cuts.

We balance the ticket quite well. I am from Greater Minnesota, and Judi is from the metropolitan area. We both received the benefits of a strong Minnesota educational system, and we will fulfill the role of every administration, except the current one, in acting as a guardian for the next generation.

Special kudos go out to Waffle Tushie who was the first, I believe, to post the first serious claim of Judi as Hatch's running mate.

Flash