MANKATO — State Rep. Tom Emmer, the Republican-endorsed candidate for governor, had a partisan crowd unanimously cheering — with one exception — during a tax rally in Mankato Friday morning.

They loved what the Delano attorney had to say about reform and shrinking state government, about blocking Democratic attempts to raise taxes, and about private business prosperity being the key to economic growth. The only murmurs of disagreement came when Emmer tied his visit to the arrival in Mankato of both the Minnesota Vikings and the three Democratic gubernatorial candidates debating at Minnesota State University Friday night.

Of the Vikings, Emmer said, “They’ve got a great playbook,” and talked about the team’s record of success stemming from their skill in making adjustments when new challenges arise on game day.

At least one Monday-morning coach offered a quiet, and good-natured “boo” to that assessment of the Purple’s coaching staff. But Emmer was back to getting cheers when he characterized the Democrat’s game plan.

“Their playbook has never changed,” Emmer said. “... There is only one play in their playbook and it’s to raise taxes and grow government.”

The three-term state lawmaker contrasted the economic fortunes of government employees — pension plans, rising wages, strong health care benefits — with private sector workers struggling in the current recession.

Reducing the tax burden and the unnecessary regulation on businesses is the basis of his campaign, Emmer said. If he’s elected and if Republicans take the majority in the state House and Senate, Minnesotans will get the job opportunities they’re craving.

“People in Minnesota want a payroll check, they do not want a welfare check,” he said, generating probably the loudest applause of his speech at the Republican headquarters in the Mankato Place mall.

He apologized for getting “a little excited about it,” and a man in the crowd shouted, “Keep going.” Which Emmer, a former hockey coach, happily did.

“They want a job,” he said. “They don’t want a bureaucratic shoulder to cry on.”

Emmer spoke of the $8 million the three Democratic contenders have spent on the battle for the DFL nomination, which will be decided in the primary election on Aug. 10. And he talked about the “trashing” of opponents, probably a reference to ads run by a liberal organization that focused on Emmer’s drunk driving arrests 19 and 29 years ago.

Neither the money nor the ads will trump his message, Emmer said.

“We’re here to represent the rest of us while they want to represent government.”

Emmer said little in his speech about the budget shortfall that will face the next governor — projected to be between $5.8 billion and $7 billion, a daunting amount in a state general fund budget of about $30 billion. The Democrats, along with Independence Party-endorsed candidate Tom Horner, have said the deficit is so steep that it can be erased only through a combination of tax increases and spending cuts.

After the rally, Emmer was asked how specific he will get later in the campaign about the spending cuts he would propose to eliminate the billions of dollars in red ink. He said much of the focus of the reductions will be on health care programs, that some state agencies can be combined, and that the size of the governor’s cabinet can be reduced.

He said he will offer examples of areas where money can be saved but doesn’t plan to offer anything resembling a detailed budget proposal.

“I think we’ve given you the stuff we’ll be giving,” Emmer said.

And he rejects the premise that cuts of more than $5 billion will be inevitably painful to many Minnesotans relying on government services.

“Why is there a presumption that we have to cut any service that is necessary?” he asked.

For Cathy Dahl of Mankato, the important thing is Emmer’s overall philosophy of lowering taxes and spurring business retention and recruitment. Laid off from her job as a graphic designer on Jan. 1, it’s personal as well as political for Dahl.

“I love his energy and commitment,” she said.

Emmer was joined at the rally by Chris Barden, the Republican-endorsed candidate for attorney general, and a long line of GOP legislative candidates from throughout south-central Minnesota.