Tom Emmer, a state congressman with ties to the tea party, won the backing of the state鈥檚 GOP party in part due to Palin鈥檚 endorsement on the eve of the state convention.
Palin made a personal appeal to delegates as they arrived at the convention. (In Minnesota politics, winning a party鈥檚 endorsement is critical to prevailing in the primary.)
She called Mr. Emmer, the more conservative of the two candidates, 鈥渁 patriotic fiscally conservative 鈥榟ockey dad鈥欌�� on her Facebook page, and her backing may have helped Emmer clinch the party鈥檚 support. He didn鈥檛 get an endorsement from the current governor, Tim Pawlenty, until after the convention.
