[Update: Madia's speech and concession/acceptance speeches]

The MN-03 DFL Convention took place today. Delegates gathered at the Wayzata High School to choose between Ashwin Madia and Terri Bonoff. Going in Ashwin had 84.5 delegates and Terri had 52. The sole reason that Terri is still in the race is because of the superdelegates. Terri has 15 superdelegates while Ashwin only has two.

While Ashwin's campaign is close to gaining the endorsement (59% without the supers, 53% with them), Terri's campaign must be hoping for a no endorsement result. She can only become the candidate to face Erik Paulsen if the race goes to the primary.

As I pulled into the parking lot, the Teamsters Local 120's tractor trailer was honking and supporters of both sides were chanting at the entrance.

The energy of the supporters are really what make or break a campaign and both sides seemed pretty pumped for the event today despite temperatures that were in the upper 30s this morning.

I picked up my press pass and was shown to the holding pens for the bloggers ... real press had their own little area (right next to we bloggers). The press are finally paying attention, it's just too bad they're so late ... it's been a pretty exciting campaign up til now.

I spoke to Ashwin's Dad. He was really excited at the prospect of today's event and hopeful his son could pull it off. He said that immigrants are the lifeblood of America and only in America could his son achieve such an amazing thing as winning this endorsement.

Franken volunteers and staffers were crawling all over the convention. They were there to re-identify supporters and see if any undecideds had decided. While there were some Jack Nelson-Pallmeyer staff and volunteers, they were definitely outnumbered.

Once the convention got underway, delegates heard from Brian Melendez, Chair of the State DFL Party. He emphasized that everyone should play fair. "I realize that many of you think that your candidate is beyond reproach, can do no wrong and is perfect. Some of you may not understand how anyone could support the opposing candidate. Just remember that we have to unite behind whomever the standard bearer is and if you piss off your opponent's supporters, it will hurt is come November." He reminded delegates that we have a lot of work to do to win in November. This was a great reminder that we are all DFLers and our real goal is defeating Erik Paulsen.

There were many preliminaries and speakers. MN-SEN candidates Jack Nelson-Pallmeyer and Al Franken addressed the convention. Al brought his grade school teacher, Mrs. Moline, onstage with him. My cuteness meter redlined. Minneapolis Mayor RT Rybak spoke for Obama. Former Senator Mark Dayton spoke for Hillary. However, since today was about the race to replace Jim Ramstad, I'm going to stick to MN-03 subjects today. I might write a little more about some of this later.

It always seems to take forever to get to the meat of the convention, this time is vital. Both campaigns were working hard to determine if any delegates had changed their minds or were willing to switch sides on later ballots. But finally, it was time for Ashwin to address the convention.

Ashwin's speech needed to be stellar. He needed to impress those delegates who like Terri and him, but had chosen Terri. Terri's only strategy was to block and he needed something special. As he and his supporters lined up to file onstage, I wondered why campaigns bring all their supporters onstage for their candidates speech. Sometimes the convention floor looks rather empty, sometimes the stage looks rather empty. This time I was also wondering if someone might all the Fire Marshall the stage was so packed.

Here's the transcript of his speech:

Good morning, my fellow Democrats. We live in a beautiful country and we are blessed to call ourselves Americans. We have some of the kindest, most innovative and most decnt people in the entire world. We have bountiful resoures in our country. Our nation's fonding document is one of the most brilliant and moving pieces ever written. We are patriotic, we come together to meet our nation's challenges and we are optimistic people.

How lucky we are to be Americans.

When our nation lives up to its ideals, it is realy the greatest on earth. In what other country could two immigrants arrive with next to nothing, work hard, play by the rules, live the American dream and one day watch their son run for Congress? As my father says: "it's only in America." But for as exceptional as the story of my parents is, it's not unique.

It's the same story that has been lived out millions and millions of times in our nation's history by our ancestors from Europe, Africa, South America and Asia. What a beautiful country we have and what amazing ideals. Unfortunately however, over the past 8 years we've been forced to endure leaders who have attacked the fundamental principles of our nation's greatness.

They have cheapened our patriotism into little more than bumper sticker slogans and chest pounding declarations. These leaders have divided our nation across economic lines -- the haves and the have-nots. Worst of all, they have through their incompetence and dishonesty shaken our nation's trademark optimism and replaced it with a pessimism so strong that 81% of our fellow Americans believe our country is on the wrong track.

We've seen these leaders stampede our nation into a war that we didn't need to fight, against an enemy we didn't need to have, at the expense of thousands of lives and hundreds of billions of dollars while taking our nation's focus away from the real war on terror -- those who attacked us on September 11th. We've seen our troops accomplish every mission they've been given with honor yet return home and up fighting new battles for the benefits they deserve. We've seen leaders raid our national treasury to reward political allies and bankrupt our nation in the process. We've seen our nations normally humming economy plunged into recession through reckless federal spending, an indifference to working families and an unwillingness to invest in our nation's infrastructure. We've witnessed our leaders blissfully ignore a climate crisis that presents one of the greatest threats in humanity in history. We've seen tens of millions of our fellow Americans left without adequate healthcare or thrust into bankruptcy as result of life threatening illness. And we've seen our nation's original compact, the US Constitution, torn apart by systematic and relentless attacks on our fundamental civil liberties.

We are in this position because we've allowed our leaders to steer our country away from its defining principles: patriotism, unity and optimism.

It is now our challenge and our honor to right our country's course by redefining and reclaiming patriotism, uniting our people and sharing our optimistic vision for change. Today -- and the coming months and years -- will be about us, as Democrats, defining a New Patriotism for our country that calls on all Americans to be a part of the solution to the issues our country now confronts. Today is about uniting our party. The coming months will be about uniting our district -- Democrats, independents and Republicans. And finally, most importantly, today and the coming months are about turning the page on this long national nightmare and helping our fellow Americans feel optimistic again about the future and promise of our great nation.

Look across this room. Look at the new brand of patriots that stand tall here today -- united and optimistic about our country -- and ready to help make real and lasting change. It's people like us -- all over this country -- that will come together and show again just how patriotic our nation can be when it's called upon to do so -- and we, together, will succeed in helping our nation live up to its ideals once more.

But we all know the strength behind this patriotism, unity and optimism is nothing new -- it's the same great spirit that has led our nation through some of its darkest chapters, over and over throughout its history. And so we know we can rely on this spirit now -- again -- to address the new issues facing our country. The same unity and sacrifice that Franklin Roosevelt called upon to lead our nation through the Great Depression will help us build an economy that works for all Americans in the 21st century. That same ingenuity that John F Kennedy called upon to put a man on the moon will aid us in achieving energy independence and building a green economy. That same optimism about the human condition that drove Americans leaders to fight for the creation of the United Nations and the approval of the Geneva Conventions after WWII will aid us today as we end the Iraq War and restore our national standing in the world. The same can do spirit that filled scientists and visionaries when they came together to lead the world to stop the destruction of the ozone layer will help the US lead the world in creating a plan to combat the threat that is global climate change. And -- closest to my heart -- the same bravery and patriotism that inspired men and women of decency and conscience to rise up and beat down McCarthyism will guide us as we restore and safeguard the constitutional liberties and fundamental freedoms that form the bedrock or our nation.

There will be those who will try to stop us, I promise you. They'll use fear tactics, and they'll lie and distort and do everything in their power to maintain the status quo. But our New Patriotism, our unity and our optimism will beat this new challenge, too.

How?

By leveling with our fellow Americans and telling the truth even when it's hard.

By standing together and showing our resolve.

And by inspiring our fellow Americans to stand with us shoulder to shoulder -- as we march forward to get our country back on track.

If you honor me with your endorsement, we will win this seat in the fall.

We will reach out to the independents and moderate Republicans in our district who are hungry to have leadership that challenges them to be a part of the solution, I believe that they are yearning -- and hungry -- for leaders who are genuinely patriotic and will call on them to unite and move forward. We will.

We will make darn sure that our competition doesn't bludgeon us with the patriotism card or weak on terror card just because we believe that our resources are better spent in places other than Iraq. When we speak about the war on terror or the Ward in Iraq, I will speak as a Marine Corps and Iraq War veteran. And Marines don't take kindly to being called weak or unpatriotic.

And finally, we will just work harder than our competition. Plain and simple. Just as I have given this endorsement race everything I've got, I will get up earlier than my opponent and go to bed later -- every single day between now and election day. We will go door by door, neighborhood by neighborhood, and city by city and spread our vision of a New Patriotism, Unity and Optimism.

Notice that I say "we" will spread our vision, not "I." I can't do this alone -- my message from day 1 has been about "us" doing this together, not "me." This election will be an opportunity for all of us to come together and speak with one voice fearlessly united for change. Ultimately, we will win this seat because of our strength of our message and the passion of our people.

We will win because of you.

And if I have the privilege to serve as your voice in Washington, I give you my word, I will never succumb to the fear of losing elections when I vote -- my vote will only be based on the facts and substance of the issues before me -- that's it. I will fight and advocate for the powerless in our society who often don't have a voice: the homeless population, new immigrants to the country, the LGBT community, our returning veterans and, of course, working families.

I will always do what I believe is right -- no matter what -- and I will work every single day to help our nation live up to its ideals again.

The second phase of our journey starts here, starts today -- with you. We've come so far already, let's take this next step together, as one.

My name is Ashwin Madia and I'd be honored to have your support for our party's endorsement. Thank you.

Hal Kimball at Blue Man in a Red District has vids posted of Ashwin's speech and some of the chanting before and after his speech:

Thanks, Hal.

Update

Here is a complete version of Ashwin's speech courtesy of Noah Kunin and The Uptake:

[end update]

Terri stood at the back with her son Joe and listened to Ashwin. I was impressed when I heard Ashwin's speech, but I'm even more impressed after transcribing it from the hand-out provided by the campaign. It's a great speech to the delegates, it also sets up the framework from which his campaign will run to November if he got the nomination. At this point, it was all up for grabs and Terri's campaign looked really determined and strong.

It took about 5 minutes to clear the stage and then it was Terri's turn.

Of course, as Ashwin's supporters began filing off (still chanting "Ash Win", of course), Terri's supporters began chanting her name. It was really loud at this point. Terris campaign staff decided not to bring all their supporters onstage. Instead they filed down to the front of the auditorium.

Terri's son Joe introduced his Mom. He talked about her commitment to bringing people together and how she'd done that throughout her professional life and political career. He emphasized that she's not afraid of standing up for what she thinks is right now matter the cost. He also reminded delegates of her tough '05 special election and '06 reelection. Then his Mom took the stage.

I was not given a transcript of Terri's speech so here's my rush transcript:

Terri thanked everyone for coming.

She started by telling the story of her experience of protesting the Vietnam War in college. She drew parallels between Vietnam and Iraq. "I didn't need to go to Vietnam to know it was wrong," she said. "My DFL values have stayed the same throughout my entire adult life."

She then told a story about the family's clothing store business. Her father took a public position on a woman's right to choose. One day he got a letter from a customer. Inside was a threatening letter and the customer's chopped up credit card for their store. The woman threatened her father and promised to never do business with them again. Her Dad told her that he wasn't worried about any threats and that standing up for the right things was much more important.

She reminded delegates that her first battle in the Senate after her special election was to protect a woman's right to choose. "I have never wavered in my beliefs and you don't need to wonder where I stand," she said.

She rhetorically asked the crowd who has the vision to beat Erik Paulsen. She is the candidate with a proven track record of winning races in tough Republican districts. She won a dirty special election in 2005 where her opponent and unknown parties used slime in an attempt to beat her. She then defeated the same woman again in 2006.

She then listed a whole bunch of issues that matter to her and which she'll work hard on:

• Healthcare
• Respect for diversity
• Protection of civil rights
• Our children's education
• No Child Left Behind is neither a slogan or a test, but a failed policy
• The environment
• The economic downturn - she reminded voters that she supports the economic stimulus package passed by Congress
• Fiscal responsibility

She'll stand up against special interests lining the pockets of executives. Democrats should never believe that military muscle is the answer to our problems. American needs to lead with diplomacy. Military muscle should be the last resort and not the first. She has always been against the war. There is no military solution in Iraq only a diplomatic solution. She wants our troops out now. All of them.

Bobby Kennedy inspired her when he said "Some people see things the way they are, I choose to see things the way they could be."

Now is the time to come together. The time to beat Erik Paulsen in November. She asked for the delegates support.

Question & Answer

After the speeches is normally a crucial time of the convention, the Question & Answer session. It's important for undecided delegates to make up their minds or finalize their decision after they've heard the candidates speak. However, since there had been a month between the last district convention and today, most delegates were already decided coming in. The advantage of the Q&A would be to Ashwin as he's an excellent extemporaneous speaker. Terri needed to do well so that her delegates would choose to stick with her during the later rounds.

What is your position on preventing foreign call centers from calling Minnesotans?

Terri: There was a bill that came to the legislature to prevent foreign call centers from calling Minnesotans. She opposed it. She thought it smacked of racism.

Ashwin: The real issue is the outsourcing of jobs. We need to build a new economy, a green economy where we create jobs in MN.

What is the main difference between you and Jim Ramstad?

Ashwin: Ashwin is opposed to the Iraq War and for fiscal responsibility.

Terri: She is disappointed with his positions on Iraq and foreign policy. She's also disappointed he didn't push through proper funding of special education.

What is your position on Bush's tax cuts?

Terri: She is not for sweeping generalizations about tax policy. It's much more complicated than that. She thinks the tax cuts for the richest 1% should expire. "We cannot tax our way into prosperity." She likes the Bush tax cuts for the middle class.

Ashwin: Ashwin talked about the New Patriotism. After 9/11, Americans were told to not worry and go shopping. The only people asked to make any sacrifices in the war on terror have been our troops and their families. We need a shared sacrifice for the common good. The wealthiest who never asked for their tax cuts nor needed them need to make a sacrifice for the good of our nation.

What will you do to help improve the economy?

Ashwin: Global climate change is the biggest threat facing our civilization and also our biggest opportunity. We can build a green economy. We need to help small businesses. We need to balance the budget. We need grownups in Washington to talk about sound fiscal policy and make it happen.

Terri: The biggest thing we can do to help our economy is get out of Iraq. We need to invest in infrastructure and education. Doing this will build for the future.

What will you do to end homelessness for kids?

Terri: This is such an important issue. [she seems to say this a lot] I tried to follow her answer but it sort of rambled about how important education is and staying in school. She didn't complete the thought about staying in school. Then she talked about how many kids see going to college as piling up a massive debt.

Ashwin: This is particularly close to Ashwin's heart as there are so many homeless vets. He wants shelters for vets. He wants a comprehensive plan to address homelessness in our country. He wants to improve mental health services for kids.

How will you appeal to moderates?

Ashwin: "Many of you may not know this, but I was a Republican." [Several Bonoff supporters booed and another yelled "Still Are!"] He remarked that he's taken many hits over this after the boo-birds were shushed. "What I will say is that President Bush has been a tremendous recruiting tool for the Democratic Party. I believe that my service in the Marine Corps and in Iraq will appeal to many moderates."

Terri: She reminded her supporters to remain respectful and polite. She wants to unite the middle over the values we all have in common. She thinks her business experience will appeal to moderates. She cited the example of the Chamber of Commerce switching their endorsement to her after seeing her operate in the legislature.

What is your position on protecting our civil liberties and the Patriot Act?

Terri: We need to restore habeaus corpus. We need to close Guantanamo Bay. The President should not exceed the authority given to him. She said once again that this is a very important issue.

Ashwin: As a military lawyer he thinks that the national security letters have been abused horribly. The government must have probable cause to conduct a search of an American citizen. Period. He believes that oversight is the answer.

What is your position on No Child Left Behind?

Ashwin: "As I've campaigned there has not been a single teacher that I have talked to who likes No Child Left Behind." He likened it to Iraq senior officers. They see the effects of the military's ridiculous policies first hand. Like the teachers, many are speaking out.

Terri: NCLB is propaganda. It leaves all kids behind. It is a bad policy. We need to get rid of it.

I must say that both candidates did really well in getting their message across and both did a good job at the QnA.

Voting

Now it was time to get down to the whole reason everyone came, the first ballot. Each Senate District had elected someone to be their district leader and they went down to collect and distribute the ballot. Having absolutely no idea how many ballots this would go and, of course, hoping for a speedy conclusion, I uber-optimistically predicted a victory for Ashwin on the second ballot.

1st ballot

Ashwin - 82.5 - 53.4%
Terri - 70 - 45.3%
No endorsement - 2 - 1.3%
Undecided - 2 - 1.3%

This is pretty much exactly what had been predicted. Amid the madness, the chanting and the running around, the campaigns sent out their persuaders to talk to delegates they thought might switch. What always amazes me is how any campaign can get anything done in between votes.

2nd ballot

Ashwin - 82.5 - 53.4%
Terri - 74 - 47.3%

Terri's supporters went ballistic when this was announced. Any sign of momentum would appear to be a sign of The Big Mo swinging to their side. In reality, the two undecideds and the two no endorsements just switched to Terri.

3rd ballot

Ashwin - 84.5 - 54%
Terri - 72 - 46%

This time it was Ashwin's supporters turn to scream and shout. Was this a sign of momentum? It was hard to tell, but Ashwin's campaign had pried away two of Terri's supporters.

4th ballot

Ashwin - 82.5 - 53%
Terri - 73 - 47%

Terri might have gained a vote and one of Ashwin's alternates did not get upgraded in time. There was quite a squabble trying to get the upgraded alternate on the floor as she missed the freeze by a matter of seconds. Once again it appeared as though there was no movement and Terri's hopes of blocking endorsement so that she could run to the primary might be working.

5th ballot

Ashwin - 83.5% - 54.7%
Terri - 72 - 46.3%

This time I think Terri had a delegate frozen off the floor. Nothing is happening. Before the floor can be frozen for the sixth ballot, superdelegate, Terri supporter and DNC member Jacke Stephenson made a motion to suspend the rules and allow the candidates to address the crowd. It passed and both candidates climbed onto the stage.

Ashwin went first. Here's my quick transcript:

While Erik Paulsen is on the phone raising money, we'll be beating each other up in a primary campaign. This does nobody any good. We need an endorsement so we can begin building the campaign to defeat him. Now on getting to who you should endorse ... [a few chuckles from the crowd] ... if I am your endorsed candidate, I am going to need all your help. Now is the time we all need to unite and place the party first.

Terri went second:

I am behind now, but I was behind by a lot more. I have closed the gap. She reminded the delegates that she has almost all the superdelegates on her side. She promised to deliver the election in November. She mentioned that she'd raised over $500K in the race so far. She asked the convention to give her a second chance.

This was a bizarre last statement. WTF? 2nd chance? I'm not sure why she said that. Ashwin came across really strongly and Terri began to sound a little desperate in my opinion. The question is would it have any effect on the voting?

6th ballot

Ashwin - 84.5 - 54%
Terri - 72 - 46%

D'Oh! No movement. This was going nowhere fast. Both sets of supporters were chanting as is possessed. I then heard a rumor that the school district's rules forced us out of the school at 5:30 with the property totally vacated by 6:00pm. It was definitely looking like there would be no endorsement. I decided to head home. It was about 4:00pm.

The Madia Campaign got the word out at this point that Ashwin had actually outraised Terri in Q1.

7th ballot

Ashwin - 85.5 - 55.7%
Terri - 68 - 44.3%

This all happened while I was driving home. Movement. Finally. I was obliviously working up my post about the irresponsibility and intransigence of the unelected superdelegates as I cruised towards Minneapolis on I-394. There is a saying I've heard ... "Don't leave before the miracle happens" ... I'd already hit the road.

8th ballot

Ashwin - 90.5 - 58.2%
Terri - 65 - 41.8%

What I learned later was that Ashwin had a couple of delegates frozen off the floor in the 7th ballot plus several of Terri's supporters were going home starting with the 7th ballot. I arrived home at this point find Joe Bodell crowing that Terri's concession was imminent. Normally, I'm the guy who stays at the game no matter how badly its going for my team. I spent the evening smacking my palm to my forehead.

So I wish I could provide y'all with pix and quotes from the concession and acceptance speeches, but I'd left before the miracle happened.

Update

Here is Terri's concession and Ashwin's acceptance courtesy of Joe Bodell from MN Campaign Report: