Initially I thought that Scott Benson was a shoe-in, but in the run-up to Saturday's 62nd District Convention, I became convinced that Patricia Torres Ray's candidacy offered something that no other candidate could match. Her campaign brought out new delegates from the Latino community, yes, and also from professionals in the social-services community who recognized her solid accomplishments.

And then there were the younger delegates, one of whom buttonholed me a couple of weeks ago to express his opinions. To this young man, the Torres Ray candidacy offered a chance for the DFL to put their money where their mouth has been with regard to diversity. And just maybe if the campaign continues to attract the kind of folks I saw at the convention, we'll bring out enough new voters to put Tim Pawlenty out of office.