State Auditor Rebecca Otto, who now faces a DFL challenge in the August primary from Matt Entenza, angered northern Minnesota mining interests when she voted last fall against exploratory mining leases in an action on the state Executive Council.

The leases went through anyway, because Otto was the only no vote, but an editorial in the Mesabi Daily News Friday calls it “one of the all-time dumbest votes.”

And, the editorial says, in addition to causing her trouble, it’s causing a flap in the DFL party.

“…she’s sparked a major uprising in the traditional DFL Iron Range stronghold. A lot of DFLers in the region are quite upset — and for very good reason — over her anti-copper/nickel/precious metals position. Article continues after advertisement …She has now managed to cause a huge headache — a colossal migraine — for the DFL Party, quite possibly tainting the re-election campaigns in northeastern Minnesota of Gov. Mark Dayton, U.S. Rep. Rick Nolan and Sen. Al Franken. … Nolan and Dayton are standing by their endorsement of Otto, but doing so with some reservations. There has been no comment on the issue from Franken.”

The paper is fine with the “Dump Otto” movement: