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Minnesota Town Re-Elects 4-Year-Old 'Mayor'

The tiny tourist town of Dorset in northern Minnesota re-elected on Sunday 4-year-old Robert "Bobby" Tufts, who has not even started school, as "mayor" for a second term. The boy is known for his love for ice cream and fishing.

Dorset, a town with fewer than 30 people, has no formal city government, and the "election" for mayor took place during Sunday's annual Taste of Dorset Festival, according to The Associated Press.

Bobby handed out his campaign card, one side of which had a picture of Bobby, and the other side showed him sitting in a porch swing with his girlfriend, Sophie. "I would love to be your Mayor as much as I love Sophie," the card read.

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All were invited to vote, and as many times as they liked, but the voters had to pay $1 for each vote. The ballot boxes were kept in stores around town. The profit was sent as contribution toward organizing the festival.

Bobby was asked to choose a random man out of the crowd blindfolded before he picked the name out of a clear tub. The mayor's mother, Emma Tufts, said they got choked up when Bobby's name was pulled for re-election Sunday.

Bobby, of nearby Nevis, was elected for the first time last year when he was only 3. He will turn 5 in October, and start preschool this fall.

After his re-election Sunday, the mother said, "He's been going since 3 o'clock yesterday with cameras on his face. He's having a long day but he's done really well. I'm surprised."

When Bobby was asked how he felt during a phone interview, he told his mother, "I want to be with the boys."

Bobby and his mother had plans to celebrate the victory by going fishing or having a bonfire after Sunday's supper.

The boy is helping raise funds for the Ronald McDonald House Charities of the Red River Valley in Fargo, N.D., as well as a new welcome sign for the town, which calls itself the Restaurant Capital of the World.

While $750 have been raised, the mayor now plans to do a snowshoe scavenger hunt this winter to raise more money.

"I think he's a cute little bugger and I think a lot of people share the same, you know, opinion as me, and it's neat," Hubbard County Sheriff Cory Aukes was quoted as saying. "You know, how often do you see a little kid like that who's – call 'em camera-friendly or whatever, you know – he's got a very good little personality, and he's not afraid to show it. So I think it's great."

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