On Tuesday, voters in Minnesota’s 2nd Congressional District will choose among four Republican candidates to replace retiring GOP Rep. John Kline, who has held the seat for 14 years but is not seeking reelection. Turnout for primaries is generally far lower than in the November election and MPR News reported it was shaping up that way again Tuesday.
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Craig’s edge comes in part because she sewed up the Democratic nomination in January, while Lewis didn’t dispatch rivals Darlene Miller and John Howe until Tuesday. Miller’s campaign sent out mailers accusing Lewis of supporting heroin legalization; Lewis contends she wrongly twisted his remarks from his radio show.
Among them was Todd Laubach, who voted for Jason Lewis, saying the candidate’s radio career, fiscal conservatism and party endorsement won him over.
Turnout was light. In one of the district’s larger communities, the Minneapolis suburb of Lakeville, just 115 people had voted at an area polling place as of 5 p.m. – less than 5 percent of the precinct’s registered voters. He also said he was disturbed by some of Lewis’s “stupid, kind of Donald Trump-like” comments.
“I know he can be inflammatory”. “I’m exhausted of the way things are going”. He said higher numbers in more competitive pockets like the 2nd District that could bump up numbers statewide.
Andy Lokken, the elections manager for Dakota County, which includes Lakeville, said he was surprised that the congressional race didn’t drive more turnout. Hamline University Professor David Schultz says it is a race that will likely set the stage for a closely contested general election.
A win for either of Kahn’s challengers could pave the way for the nation’s first Somali-American lawmaker, since Tuesday’s victor will likely be heavily favored in November in the liberal district.
Minnesota House Speaker Kurt Daudt of Crown, shown here on February 26, 2016, is facing a primary challenge in his legislative district.
DFL mainstay and longest actively serving Minnesota state representative Pyhllis Kahn is fighting off tough competition in legislative district 60B. Somali community activist Ilhan Omar beat Rep. Phyllis Kahn, of Minneapolis. Daudt, seen as a potential Republican candidate for governor at some point, was trying to fend off Alan Duff, a former Isanti County commissioner who has argued that Daudt hasn’t done enough to limit state spending.
The major nonpartisan contest is for Supreme Court Justice Natalie Hudson’s job. Two candidates advance to November.
Ramsey County elections chief Joe Mansky, a former state elections official, estimated 5 percent turnout in his county, the state’s second-most populous.
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“As I travel the state, I always tell Minnesotans that your vote is your voice, and to never give that up”, Secretary of State Steve Simon said.
