KTTC Rochester, Austin, Mason City News, Weather and SportsMinnesota's two largest cities vote on mayors

Minnesota's two largest cities vote on mayors

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) -- Voters in Minnesota's two largest cities were deciding Tuesday whether to keep their mayors or choose new ones.

Minneapolis and St. Paul held mayoral elections. Incumbents R.T. Rybak and Chris Coleman, both Democrats, were seeking re-election.

Coleman was up against businesswoman Eva Ng (ING), who was endorsed by Republicans.

Rybak had 10 challengers in the first test of instant runoff voting in Minneapolis.

Voters get to rank their preferences for city offices. Candidates who surpass 50 percent of the vote win their race outright.

But if no candidate surpasses 50 percent, the system triggers an "instant runoff." The bottom candidate is eliminated and second and then third choices are awarded to the top finishers until one exceeds 50 percent.