DFL-er Mike Hatch holds a small lead over incumbent Republican Tim Pawlenty in the hotly contested race for Minnesota Governor. I would have loved to have seen the look on Hatch's face when he heard that his running mate Judi Dutcher came up empty trying to answer a question about E-85 in a debate yesterday:

E-85 is a blend of 85 percent ethanol and 15 percent gasoline that can be used in an increasing number of U.S. vehicles. Farmers around the Midwest are betting that demand for petroleum alternatives will boost the price of corn, the most common source of ethanol, and questions about ethanol subsidies are often the first thing politicians hear on rural stops.

But when a TV reporter asked Democratic lieutenant governor candidate Judi Dutcher about the fuel blend this week, she drew a blank.

''It's like you've asked me the college quiz bowl question,'' Dutcher said in Alexandria. ''What is E-85?''

Pawlenty jumped on the news, telling a crowd today, ""Boy, you'd really not only have to be in the private sector, but you'd have to be under a rock to not know about ethanol and E-85.''

But Hatch fought back, saying "I know a hell of a lot more about ethanol than Gov. Pawlenty could ever dream to,'' and adding that "He's [Pawlenty] not running against Judi Dutcher, he's running against me. He ought to focus on me.''

It's hard to say what impact this will have, if any, on the election. But in a race as close as this one, even small stumbles down the stretch can make the difference.