Results are in from Minnesota’s primary on Tuesday, Aug. 13, as the fields for statewide and local races were narrowed ahead of November’s general election.
Federal
Three-term incumbent Sen. Amy Klobuchar handily won the Democratic primary, garnering 94% of the vote over four challengers.
The controversial Republican Party-endorsed candidate Royce White won his primary as well, receiving 38% of the primary vote. The next closest challenger, Joe Fraser, received 29% of the vote.
In the Republican primary for the Seventh Congressional District, incumbent Rep. Michelle Fischbach defeated political newcomer Steve Boyd by nearly 14,000 votes. In April, Republican delegates failed to endorse Fischbach or Boyd after three rounds of voting.
Heavy favorites Republican Rep. Pete Stauber and former DFL State Rep. Jen Schultz will return for a rematch of the 2022 Election in the Eighth Congressional District.
State
Races for state Legislature in Northern Minnesota ranged from a blowout victory to a razor-thin margin.
Incumbent District 6B Rep. Josh Heintzeman of Nisswa easily beat his primary challenger Matthew Zinda, earning 91% of the vote. Zinda tried to get Heintzeman removed from the ballot on a technicality earlier this year.
Republican Party-endorsed Cal Warwas of Eveleth also beat his challenger, Matt Matasich, in House District 7B. The 7B race is without an incumbent after DFL Rep. Dave Lislegard retired.
In District 10A, Rep. Ron Kresha of Little Falls just barely eked past Diane Webb-Skillings with 35 more votes. Like Fischbach, Kresha also failed to earn his party’s endorsement in April.
Lawyers Gunnar B. Johnson and Shawn Reed emerged from a group of five candidates running to fill a Sixth Judicial District judgeship vacated by a retirement. Johnson, Reed, Peter Raukar and John B. Schulte each received 19-23% of the vote, with just a few hundred votes between each candidate.
County
There were three primaries Tuesday for Becker County Board, each with three candidates.
In District 3’s primary contest with no incumbent, Phil Hansen of Detroit Lakes, Henry “Hank” Ludtke of Frazee and Terry Mackner of Rochert appeared on the ballot.
Hansen and Mackner will move on to the general election, earning more than half the votes and more than a third of the vote, respectively.
District 4 saw a tighter race, with incumbent Richard Vareberg challenged by Jason Bristlin of Audobon and Donald Skarie of Detroit Lakes.
Vareberg secured his place on the ballot this November with 328 votes, as did Skarie with 292 votes.
In Becker County District 5, incumbent candidate Barry Nelson of Audubon will move ahead to the general election after receiving 489 votes. Challenger Jack Heisler of Ogema, a White Earth Band member and buffalo ranch hand, came in second with 185 votes.
With a new map after a redistricting lawsuit, all Beltrami County commissioners are up for election this year, but only the largest district had a primary contest Tuesday.
Incumbent Tim Sumner is a Red Lake Band member and has served on the Board since 2012 and will once again appear on general election ballots after receiving 641 votes in the primary.
Challenger Frank Duresky of Waskish will also advance after receiving 431 votes.
In Carlton County, Dan Reed and Alex French topped a crowded field without an incumbent vying for the District 5 Commissioner seat. Reed earned 37.55% of the vote, and French received 25.32%.
Longtime incumbent Crow Wing County Commissioner Doug Houge finished third in a tight three-way race, falling just 45 votes shy of second-place candidate Johnna Johnson, who garnered 664 votes. Jamie Lee topped the field with 674 votes, or 34.44%.
County commissioner fields were also narrowed to two candidates in Clearwater, Cass, Kittson and Norman counties.
City
One candidate failed to advance from the primary in three Range city council races, with Seraphia Gravelle of Chisholm, Kristina Hawkins of Mountain Iron and Ricky Angellar of Virginia all finishing last in voting.
In Bemidji, Mayor Jorge Price garnered 72% of the primary vote. He’ll face Daniel Jourdain on the ballot in November.
In Bemidji's Council Ward 3, Mark Dickinson and Katie Carter beat out Greg Kuhn, with Dickinson earning 68% of the vote.
There was a tight finish in Ward 5. Incumbent Councilor Lynn Eaton topped the group with 126 votes. Bill Batchelder received 104 votes, beating out Michael Meehlhause for a spot in the general election by five votes.
Township
Voters in Aitkin County’s Shamrock Township, near McGregor, selected two new supervisors for town board, after choosing to expand the board to five seats in March.
Brock Hayes beat out Greg Neumann for Supervisor Seat E with 101 votes to Neumann’s 77. Bruce Johnson will fill Supervisor Seat D after running unopposed.
Check out KAXE's full list of election results for more races and exact vote counts.
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There's plenty to do throughout Northern Minnesota this week, including a harvest fair in Bemidji and a mental health conference in Grand Rapids.
