One of Mr. Ritchie's financial supporters during his 2006 run for office was a 527 group called the Secretary of State Project, which was co-founded by James Rucker, who came from MoveOn.org.

WSJ: Mischief in Minnesota?

There was speculation locally that Beijing might be prepared to consider Chan for higher office, but this was given little credence by most analysts, as Financial Secretary Donald Tsang's stock has been rising recently as the leading alternative to Tung.

CNN: Intelligence: The Week Ahead