In a state like Minnesota, where so much of our economy relies on Greater Minnesota, it’s critical that the people in charge do their job for the entirety of the state, not just the metro.

Luckily, for all of Minnesota, Governor Mark Dayton has delivered for us.

An editorial by the Crookston Times a few weeks ago declared just that:

When you’re thinking about who to vote for to be Minnesota’s next governor next month, are you willing to vote for Republican gubernatorial challenger Jeff Johnson because you buy into his contention that Dayton has “abandoned” Greater Minnesota? That’s a serious accusation to level at the governor, and if it’s based largely on a lack of actual visits to rural Minnesota cities made by Dayton over the past four years or so, it’s an especially risky one for Johnson to make. Because if you look at school funding, property tax relief, state aid to cities like Crookston and transportation funding…Dayton and the DFL-led legislature have delivered for Greater Minnesota.

Then, there’s the fact that the Star Tribune endorsed Gov. Dayton for a second term. So did the St. Cloud Times, the Albert Lea Tribune, Mesabi Daily News, the Minnesota Daily, and theWinona Daily News, just to name a few.

These publications report on politics all year long, and many of the editorial boards meet with candidates individually before endorsing one over the other; in other words, these endorsements don’t come easily.

The governor has proven, through turning a budget deficit into a surplus, repaying Minnesota’s schools, boosting K-12 education funding, providing free all-day kindergarten as an option for all families in the state, legalizing same-sex marriage, passing the anti-bullying bill and increasing the minimum wage, that he has served our state well during the last four years.

As written by the Strib’s editorial board, “Minnesota is back where it belongs.”