Dog-gone: Canine candidate re-elected Minnesota town mayor

CORMORANT, Minn. – The four-legged mayor of a northwestern Minnesota village greets voters like a true politician.

Duke, a 9-year-old Great Pyrenees, won a third one-year term as honorary mayor of Cormorant Township on Saturday.

The big, shaggy white dog was overwhelmingly re-elected at the sixth annual Cormorant Daze Festival. Anyone could pay a dollar and cast a vote.

Cormorant resident Karen Nelson says Duke “greets everyone” who comes to the village of about 20 people nestled among lakes about 180 miles northwest of Minneapolis.

Nelson says the canine mayor also is popular with children. She says Duke “can have 10 kids on him, and he don’t care.”

Duke was first elected in a write-in vote in 2014.

News from © The Associated Press, . All rights reserved.
This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Join the Conversation!

Want to share your thoughts, add context, or connect with others in your community?

The Associated Press

The Associated Press is an independent global news organization dedicated to factual reporting. Founded in 1846, AP today remains the most trusted source of fast, accurate, unbiased news in all formats and the essential provider of the technology and services vital to the news business. More than half the world’s population sees AP journalism every day.