ST. PAUL — A small fraction of the ballots Republican Tom Emmer’s campaign challenged in the Minnesota governor’s race recount will go before a state board charged with declaring a winner.

Emmer’s attorneys said Tuesday they rulings on only 131 ballots, far fewer than the 761 challenges that were pending. Emmer will end the recount trailing Democrat Mark Dayton, who led by almost 9,000 votes. An election lawsuit is still a possibility.

In a letter to the State Canvassing Board, Emmer attorney Eric Magnuson says the candidate’s recount observers lodged the challenges to give campaign lawyers a chance to review them further. Once they did, he says the legal team “made reasoned decisions” on whether to pursue challenges further.

Dayton’s challenge list wasn’t immediately available.

The board’s review is set to begin Wednesday.