A divided Minnesota Republican Party made the unprecedented decision Saturday not to endorse any candidate for the U.S. Senate in the state primary Sept. 10.
Delegates said that after two days and 14 ballots, neither former Sen. Rudy Boschwitz nor former state Commerce Commissioner Bert McKasy had mustered the necessary 60 percent of the vote.Party endorsement would have meant financial and organizing support for the chosen candidate, who would oppose Democratic Sen. Paul Wellstone in November.
Boschwitz narrowly lost to Wellstone in Minnesota's 1990 Senate election.
McKasy, a St. Paul business executive and former state legislator, has not committed himself to running in the primary and said Saturday he will make a decision within the next few days.