MANKATO — As the three Democratic candidates who will compete in the primary election debated budgets, education, Local Government Aid and No Child Left Behind, there was one issue upon which they soundly agreed: Their distaste for the ideas of Tom Emmer.

Emmer, the endorsed Republican gubernatorial candidate, was nowhere near this debate; it was Democrats-only Friday night at Minnesota State University’s Ostrander Auditorium. But if his ears were burning, here’s why.

Mark Dayton, Margaret Anderson Kelliher and Matt Entenza — each hoping to be the Democrat to face Emmer in the general election Nov. 2 — took turns saying Emmer’s ideas “will devastate education in this state,” and “Tom Emmer wants to eliminate (Local Government Aid)” and “Any of the three of us would be a vastly different governor than Tom Emmer.”

But the night, however many times Emmer’s name was mentioned, was designed for the candidates to distinguish themselves in the hopes that voters would have a better idea of what each stood for.

On the question of how they’d tackle the budget situation, Dayton’s reply was a simple one: Tax the rich.

Tax cuts for the wealthy, he said, should be repealed. To make the richest Minnesotans pay a tax rate similar to that paid by the majority of Minnesotans would increase revenue.

Doing so would allow more money to be spent on his top priority: education

“Good quality education,” he said. “We sacrifice that at our peril.”

Kelliher, a Mankato native, said her budget approach would be a balanced one that includes fair taxes, budget savings and “temporary tools.”

She cautioned that the budget fix we’re in — a deficit of $5.8 billion without factoring in inflation — is something the state needs to figure out a long-term fix for.

“We did not get here overnight,” she said. “We cannot get out of it overnight.”

Entenza said he wanted a balanced approach as well, and said he wanted to create up to 50,000 jobs.

Like Kelliher, he said he’d solve the deficit with a thirds approach: one-third new revenue, one-third cost savings and one-third deferments.

“We need a budget that helps us grow jobs,” he said.

Kelliher also was strong on job talk.

She touted her role in getting federal stimulus funds to Minnesota. She used the example of a Jordan man who lost his job in the housing crunch, then used stimulus funds to retrain at MSU for a new career.

“My first priority will be jobs, my second priority will be jobs and my third priority will be jobs,” she said.

On education, Entenza talked about his bold idea of having Minnesota opt out of the No Child Left Behind program, started under George W. Bush and now supported by President Barack Obama.

He said the restrictions are hurting schools and students, and because of its mass bureaucracy, the state is falling from its once vaunted reputation as the nation’s leader in education.

“No Child Left Behind is a disaster,” he said. “It’s labeling our schools, teachers are teaching to the test — we need to scrap it. ... Get rid of things that don’t work.”

Dayton said he’d push for increased funding for early childhood programs and K-12 education generally.

He said he instituted a teaching excellence recognition program while serving as a U.S. senator. It’s gone now, but if elected he’d bring it back.

He also lamented the recent budget cuts in higher education, the ones that resulted in dozens of faculty members losing their jobs and programs being eliminated.

“We’re going in the wrong direction,” he said of education funding. “I’ll increase state funding for K-12 education. I know where I can find the money: from the richest Minnesotans.”

Moderating the event were Mankato radio icon Pete Steiner and Jim Ragsdale, a former reporter and columnist for the St. Paul Pioneer Press. Ragsdale asked the candidates how they’d deal with the ubiquitous divisiveness that plagues the current political environment.

To that, Entenza told a touching story of how his great grandparents, when they settled in the Worthington area and started a farm, started up a church and a school building for all the people of the community because it was the right thing to do. He’d use that same public-good approach to governing.

He said he’d also be a peaceful governor, and added that the reason he doesn’t say he’ll fight for this or fight for that is because he doesn’t think there should be fighting when it comes to doing what’s right for the people of Minnesota.

Kelliher, on the other hand, is ready to fight.

“I learned at a young age that life isn’t always easy,” she said. “I learned from that to fight. ... You don’t stop working until the work is done.”

The audience was also allowed to ask questions. Most were serious. And then there was this one: “Is Brett Farve in the building? Can we check behind the curtain?”