Mower County caucus-goers followed state party lines Tuesday, when they picked Democratic Rep. Tim Walz and Hennepin County Commissioner Jeff Johnson as their favorites to be the next Minnesota governor.

The precinct caucuses provide a first glimpse at the wide-open race and mark the first step in each party’s march toward nominating conventions in June, an early chance for Democratic and Republican voters to get involved in selecting delegates and crafting new platforms.

But at 4,000-plus precinct sites across the state, the straw polling in the governor’s race was the main event.

As expected, Walz took the The Mower County DFL nod, with 69 percent of the 109 attending casting votes for him in a straw poll. On the GOP side, both the east and west Mower County caucuses voted for Johnson by over 50 percent approval.

Johnson and Walz will get a boost from their commanding finishes in the polls, and poor performances could drive other candidates out of the race. But the results are rarely indicative of who will capture each party’s nomination, and large amounts of undecided voters show plenty of room for change — especially among an unsettled Republican field.

Johnson won more than 45 percent of caucus votes statewide, according to the Republican Party’s unofficial results — triple his nearest competitor, former GOP Party Chairman Keith Downey.

Walz, seeking the Democratic nomination for governor after six terms in Congress, was leading five Democratic challengers by at least 10 percentage points with roughly 75 percent of votes tallied.

DFL county vice chairwoman Penny Skauge said there seemed to be a new energy to the local DFL caucus. The turn-out was better than in most years, held this year at Riverland Community College. She said that a mix of new faces and seasoned caucus-goers both showed up.

“There was new enthusiasm in that room,” she said. In addition, 45 resolutions were accepted. They will  be sent on to the county convention in March. Just a sampling of them shows concerns for water quality, VA hospital funding, healthcare and making marijuana legal in Minnesota.

The low turnout in Eastern Mower is typical on non-presidential election years, according to Mower County GOP officer Brian Thiel, who convened Tuesday’s Eastern Mower GOP caucus.

Several of the attendees were students from Grand Meadow High School. Thiel said he encouraged  those who were of legal voting age to register for the caucus.

The only issue discussed at the caucus was abortion; more specifically, opposition to public funding of abortion and for those seeking abortions to be informed on the status of the fetus.

“Those positions have been a long standing part of the Republican Party platform,” Thiel said. “The platform is fairly quiet this year.”

Mower County GOP Vice Deputy Chair Dennis Schminke, who convened the Western Mower caucus, said that several resolutions were brought to his attention. Most prominent was a resolution from a second amendment rights group essentially urging the legislature to legalize “stand your ground” laws.

“In the state of Minnesota, unless you’re dealing with an intruder in your home, you have to de-escalate the situation,” Schminke said. “You end up with hundreds of resolutions coming in and they take up an enormous amount of time at the convention. I try to review these resolutions and see if they are already in the platform.”

Schminke indicated the language in the resolution was not specific, making it less than likely to be adopted into the party platform.

The Mower County GOP county convention will be held on Saturday, Feb. 24, at the Mower County Senior Center. Thiel will co-chair the convention while Schminke will serve on the Committee for Rules and Constitution.

From there, all issues discussed at the caucuses will be taken to the Minnesota GOP State Convention on June 1-2 in Duluth. The convention will also endorse candidates for state offices.

The First Congressional District GOP Convention will be on April 21 in Mankato. The party will endorse a candidate for Congressman Tim Walz’s seat at that convention.

Schauge said the DFL county convention will be held at noon on March 18, where delegates will be elected to the congressional and state conventions. Those attending the congressional convention will endorse Minnesota candidates for U. S. Congress, elect members to state commissions and committees for the state convention, and elect delegates to the National Convention.

The Associated Press contributed to this story.