ST. CLOUD, Minn. — State Rep. Kurt Bills won the Minnesota Republican Party’s endorsement for U.S. Senate after two ballots at the party convention Friday. He will face incumbent Democrat Amy Klobuchar in the November election.

Bills told a crowd of enthusiastic supporters that he’ll take the fight to Klobuchar in November.

“We’re going to go fight for this country,” he said. “You’ve put a guy forward who has a work ethic second to none.” . . .

While Bills picked up support from elected officials, his most enthusiastic backers were Paul supporters. On the first ballot, Bills garnered 53 percent of the party delegates. He won the endorsement on the second ballot, with 64 percent of the delegates.

Bills defeated former state Rep. Dan Severson, Army Capt. Pete Hegseth and two other perennial candidates. Hegseth and Severson have both said that they would drop out of the race if they didn’t win the party endorsement.