Steve Barrows, Crow Wing County DFL chairman, said 158 DFLers came to the Brainerd High School for the caucus. Martha Johnson, Senate District 4 chairman, said the attendance was less than expected with many leaving messages on her telephone that they were reluctant to travel.

Straw votes at the Crow Wing County caucus showed for governor, Mike Hatch with 89 votes; Becky Lourey, 37; and Steve Kelly, 19. Statewide Mike Hatch received 38 percent of the votes; Becky Lourey, 23 percent; State Sen. Steve Kelley, 22 percent; and Real Estate developer Kelly Doran, 6 percent.

For U.S. Senate, Amy Klobuchar was a clear winner with 139 votes. Ford Bell had 10. Statewide, Klobuchar was outpolling Bell, 77 percent to 16 percent.

For Secretary of State, Crow Wing County DFLers voted 39 for Mark Ritchie; 22 for Christian Sande; and 6 for Dick Franson. For Auditor, the straw votes were Rebecca Otto, 67; Reggie Edwards, 13.

The District 4 State Senate race is a tight ballot. Irene Folstrom had 46 percent and Mary Olson, 41 percent, with 13 percent undecided.

DFLers in District 12 did not conduct a straw poll on that state senate district race. Terry Sluss and Jessica Ringwelski are seeking the DFL endorsement.