He campaigned as a populist in opposition to Reaganomics and famously promised "to close tax loopholes for the rich and the corporations—and if you think that includes the Daytons, you're right.

[9] Mark Dayton was raised in Long Lake, Minnesota, and graduated from the Blake School in Minneapolis, where he was an all-state ice-hockey goaltender as a senior.

[10] During his time at Yale, he joined the Delta Kappa Epsilon fraternity (alongside future President George W. Bush) and received his B.A.

After college, Dayton worked as teacher in the Lower East Side of New York City from 1969 to 1971, and then as the chief financial officer of a social service agency in Boston from 1971 to 1975.

McCarthy's reputation was harmed by his endorsement of Republican Ronald Reagan in the 1980 presidential election;[14] Dayton defeated him with over 69% of the vote.

He won the DFL nomination with 41% of the vote in a six-candidate field, and defeated Republican incumbent Rod Grams in the general election, 49% to 43%.

While in the Senate, Dayton donated his salary to fund bus trips for seniors to buy cheaper prescription drugs in Canada.

[18] In April 2006, Time magazine rated Dayton one of America's "Five Worst Senators",[19] calling him "The Blunderer" for such "erratic behavior" as his temporary closure of his office in 2004 because of an unspecified terrorist threat, his complaints about "limited power in a chamber where authority derives from seniority", and a February 2005 comment that the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, was "worth a hell of a lot more than the whole state of South Dakota", a remark he later apologized for.

Largely based on his Washington behavior, The New Republic dubbed Dayton's subsequent run for state-level elected office "Eeyore For Governor.

"[20] In September 2006, Dayton requested a review of the Rogers, Minnesota, tornado[21] to determine whether the National Weather Service had acted properly and the victims' deaths were unavoidable.

The Supreme Court ruled 8–0 that it lacked jurisdiction to hear the appeal and dismissed the case, declining to grant certiorari.

[27] In a crowded Democratic field of challengers, Dayton chose to bypass the state caucuses and convention in favor of the primary election.

[28] On May 24, 2010, he announced State Senator Yvonne Prettner Solon of Duluth as his running mate for lieutenant governor.

[29] On August 10, 2010, Dayton defeated the DFL-endorsed Margaret Anderson Kelliher in the primary election by 1,500 votes, 41.33% to 39.75%, in what was called a "remarkable political comeback".

[32] At the close of balloting in the general election on November 2, 2010, Dayton led his Republican opponent, Tom Emmer, by just under 9,000 votes.

Dayton defeated Republican nominee Jeff Johnson, 50.1% to 44.5%, the first time since 1994 that the winning Minnesota gubernatorial candidate received a majority of the vote.

These executive orders reversed the previous administration's ban on federal funding for the state health-care system.

[42] On July 1, 2011, the Minnesota government went into a shutdown as a result of an impasse during budget negotiations between Dayton and the Republican-led legislature.

[46] Dayton was reluctant[47] to go along with the team's Arden Hills proposal because it would cost $1.1 billion,[48] including an additional $131 million for road improvements,[48] and later tried to have the stadium built on the site of the farmers' market near Linden Avenue in downtown Minneapolis.

[49] In May 2012, the proposal to build the stadium on the Metrodome site was passed by the Minnesota Legislature and was signed into law by Dayton.

[51][52] In 2012, Dayton commemorated the 150th anniversary of the Dakota War of 1862 with a call for reconciliation, and repudiation of former governor Alexander Ramsey's position.

[53] In the legislative session that ended in May 2013, Dayton pushed for and won a $2.1 billion tax increase, mostly on the wealthy and cigarettes.

He also signed a bill legalizing gay marriage in Minnesota, created free, statewide, all-day kindergarten, and financed expansions of the Mayo Clinic, 3M, and the Mall of America.

[56] One supporter, the mother of a child with severe epilepsy, alleged Dayton told her in a meeting that he would not legalize the drug but she could buy it illegally instead.

[63] Dayton supports health-care coverage for all Americans, with increased state and federal spending on health care.

[68] Until 2013, Dayton opposed the legalization of medical cannabis and drug policy reform, adopting the same position as his Republican predecessor Tim Pawlenty.

[60][73] On May 14, 2013, Governor Dayton signed into law a bill passed by the Minnesota House and Senate to legalize same-sex marriage in the state.

[77] In the 1970s, his political activism earned him a spot as the only Minnesotan on Richard Nixon's "enemies list", a fact he cited in future campaign speeches.

[78][79] In a 1982 race, Dayton called his wealth his "original sin" and promised to close tax loopholes for corporations and the rich.

"[81] In December 2012, Dayton underwent vertebral fusion surgery at the Mayo Clinic to treat his spinal stenosis.