Minneapolis attorney Mark Haase won the DFL endorsement for Hennepin County attorney Saturday, beating incumbent Mike Freeman by a vote of 249 to 134.

"It seemed like the delegates had responded to the message of reclaiming justice," said Del Jenkins, vice chair for District 3 and co-convener of the convention held at Patrick Henry High School in Minneapolis.

Mike Freeman, 70, has been chief prosecutor in the state's most populated county for 19 years. Haase, 50, is a graduate of the University of St. Thomas School of Law. There were no other candidates.

"I am incredibly excited that the message of our campaign resonated with the DFL Party," Haase said after the convention. "We're going to build on this momentum and will start the general election campaign immediately."

Mike Freeman's son, Matthew, said Saturday that Freeman plans to be on the ballot in November regardless of the endorsement vote.

Jim Buchta • 612-673-7376