ST. PAUL -- Edgy campaign speeches are a thing of the past for Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty.
The Republican governor now is forced to work with Democrats in the Minnesota Legislature and elsewhere in state office.
"It's time this state and this nation come together," Pawlenty told a few hundred tired supporters in a Bloomington hotel ballroom at 3 a.m. Wednesday.
Pawlenty had been declared the winner in the governor's race an hour earlier, one of two bright spots for state Republicans in an otherwise mostly Democrat-Farmer-Labor Party election day. The other was state Sen. Michele Bachmann's win in the 6th Congressional District, which stretches across the northern Twin Cities to St. Cloud.
The one-term governor offered no explanation for his win when reporters surrounded him after his acceptance speech. Instead, he concentrated on making peace with Democrats and trying to convince other Republicans that they must do the same.
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"We have to realize this country is divided," he said.
The Republican governor urged his supporters to do their part to unite the country after the divisive election season.
"I'm going to really, really double and triple my efforts to reach out," the governor told reporters.
Pawlenty said he will outline his 2007 legislative priorities over the next several weeks. Most of his brief speech was anything but celebratory.
However, as Lt. Gov. Carol Molnau introduced him, Pawlenty had a hard time keeping his smile from reaching from ear to ear.
With most votes counted, Pawlenty had 1,022,404 votes to Democratic Attorney General Hatch's 1,008,504 (47 to 46 percent).
While news organizations declared Pawlenty the victor at 2 p.m. Wednesday, Hatch waited until 10 a.m. to concede the race.
"Now is the time to unify," Hatch said, sounding much like Pawlenty.
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The governor said he would begin meeting with Democratic legislative leaders as soon as possible.
Hatch seconded that idea and urged him to sit down with lawmakers to develop a dialogue.
