Nov 3, 2009 10:57 pm US/Central
Rybak Re-Elected As Minneapolis Mayor
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) ―
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R.T. Rybak has been re-elected as Minneapolis mayor. (File)
CBS
Democratic incumbent R.T. Rybak has been re-elected as the mayor of Minneapolis.
Rybak took 72 percent of the vote in unofficial results, with almost three-fourths of precincts reporting.
Minneapolis tested its Ranked Choice Voting for the first time, allowing voters to choose more than one candidate through a ranking system. Results from that election were slower than in St. Paul and as of 9 p.m. -- an hour after polls closed -- no precincts had reported.
City officials said the system, which lets voters rank up to three candidates in each race in order of preference, went smoothly.
Rybak faced 10 other candidates from a number of backgrounds, including a libertarian and an independent. This is his third term as mayor. He was far ahead of any other candidate. The closest was Papa John Kolstad with 11 percent.
In the first time since Rybak has run for government, his campaign was a bit subdued, though some said it was because he was busy laying the groundwork for a possible gubernatorial run next year.
Ryback first took office after unseating incumbent Mayor Sharon Sayles-Belton. Then in his bid for re-election, he faced Hennepin County Commissioner Peter McLaughlin.
This time, though he faced 10 challengers, they were relatively unknown in the city.

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