Mark Dayton Is Proud of What Target Was, Not Necessarily What It’s Become

Minnesota governor hopeful Mark Dayton, of the Democratic-Farmer Labor Party and whose family’s company created the Target store chain, is leading his Republican opponent Tom Emmer by about 10 points in the polls. Will that lead go up or down now that Dayton is (calmly) slamming Emmer and Target?

“Personally, I’m disappointed in that decision,” Dayton told a reporter Tuesday of Target’s donation to MN Forward, which is funneling cash toward electing Emmer. “I am very proud of what my father and his brothers, who are my uncles, and thousands of Minnesotans built as the Dayton-Hudson Corporation and Target is one of those subsidiaries. You know, my family’s been out of the operating side of the business for about the last, almost the last 30 years. I don’t hold any stock directly in Target in my own holdings. I don’t know the percent of my family’s holding in Target but I would estimate it is less than one percent of the actively traded shares in the company and certainly my family has no voice in the actions of Target corporation.”

They better not: Target is supporting your opponent! Also, the company’s executives kind of have a hard on for anti-gay candidates as a matter of policy, so that’d be sort of awkward.