Dayton, Emmer in Minnesota governor cliffhanger

It’s the morning after Election Day in Minnesota, and once again the biggest statewide race does not have a declared winner.

Democrat Mark Dayton holds a small lead over Republican Tom Emmer in the governor’s race. With election returns in early Wednesday from all but nineteen precincts statewide, Dayton is up by 9,257 votes out of more than 1.8 millions cast.

That’s a considerably bigger lead than the 475 votes that separated Republican Norm Coleman and Democrat Al Franken in their Senate race the morning after polling day 2008. But it’s close enough that neither Dayton nor Emmer have claimed victory yet, and on Wednesday morning state GOP leaders are holding a morning news conference with one of the lawyers from Coleman’s recount legal team.

The Independence Party’s Tom Horner conceded defeat Tues night after attracting about 12 percent of the vote.

This is a Breaking News Update: Check back soon for further information. AP’s earlier story is below.

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — It’s the morning after Election Day in Minnesota, and once again the biggest statewide race doesn’t have a declared winner.

Democrat Mark Dayton holds a small lead over Republican Tom Emmer in the governor’s race. With election returns in early Wednesday from all but nineteen precincts statewide, Dayton is up by 9,257 votes out of more than 1.8 million cast.

It’s close enough that neither Dayton nor Emmer have claimed victory yet, and on Wednesday morning state GOP leaders are holding a morning news conference with one of the lawyers from Coleman’s recount legal team.

The Independence Party’s Tom Horner conceded defeat Tues night after attracting about 12 percent of the vote.