Jeff Johnson
Rep. Tim Walz
By ELI LUTGENS
Editor
It’s official. Minnesotans know who they will be voting for in November. Namely the winners of the DFL and GOP primaries on Tuesday, August 14. There were many exciting races and people were unsure of the favorites on either side of the aisle in many races.
The GOP race was between former governor Tim Pawlenty and newcomer Jeff Johnson, the GOP endorsed candidate in the race. Pawlenty was running on his record, more specifically, how his record this time around would be better. Johnson ran with the endorsement and spoke glowingly about his admiration for President Donald Trump. The primary voters gave a clear and powerful message: they didn’t want any more of the old guard. They were ready for a change and they felt Johnson was the best candidate. With 52% of the vote and 168,000 votes, Johnson will be the GOP nominee on the ballot in November.
On the DFL side, things were a little different. It was not a two person race. After the convention last month, DFL members were left wondering if the party was unified. That question was answered on Tuesday. Approaching Tuesday, polls were questionable and had Erin Murphy polling third, Tim Walz second, and latest to the race, Lori Swanson polling first in a poll done the day before the election. That is not how the election would turn out. Walz vowed to take his fight to the voters and the voters answered. With 41% of the vote, and almost a quarter million votes, Walz, came out victorious on Tuesday, and will be the DFL candidate representing not only southern Minnesota’s First District but all DFL members across the state. Murphy came in second with 32% of the vote and 186,000 votes. Lori Swanson took third with 24% of the vote.
The senate races on the DFL side were not close. Incumbents Tina Smith and Amy Klobuchar won their party’s nomination easily. Smith’s only real challenger was Richard Painter, a former George W. Bush ethics lawyer who claimed to be the progressive in the race. Smith won with 76% of the vote with Painter the runner up only winning 13% of the vote.
In the GOP races for senate there was little competition. Jim Newberger, running for Al Franken’s old seat, won with almost 70% of the vote and 200,000 votes. Running for Klobuchar's seat, Karin Housley won a tighter contest. With 61% of the vote and 186,000 votes, Housley beat Bob Anderson for the GOP nomination.
Jim Hagedorn will once again be on the ballot in November representing the GOP. With 60% of the vote, Hagedorn defeated Carla Nelson by 12,000 votes to secure the nomination for the third consecutive election. The Republicans will be trying to win a seat back that was in GOP control from 1995 until 2007 when Tim Walz, a former teacher and veteran, upset incumbent Gil Gutknecht.
Dan Feehan will be the DFL nominee running for Walz’s old seat as he runs for governor. These two candidates have something in common. Both were former teachers and veterans. Feehand served multiple combat tours in Iraq and served as the Acting Assistant Secretary of Defense. This seat is a target for both parties nationally and it will most certainly be a tightly contested contest in November.
The biggest question facing Minnesotans after Tuesday’s primary is the direction of state policies. Do people think governor Mark Dayton did a good job and do they want to continue in his direction, or would they rather follow Johnson and the President’s policies? It will certainly be a tight race, with many farmers questioning Trump’s policies towards trade and many middle class workers wondering why tax cuts are directed at the wealthiest individuals in the country and not the hardest workers in America. It will be very interesting to see who the voters of Minnesota determine worthy to lead the state for the next four years.