A special election was held in the U.S. state of

Minnesota Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the List of U.S. states and territories by population, 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minne ...

on February 5, 2019, to elect a new senator for District 11 in the

Minnesota Senate The Minnesota Senate is the upper house of the Legislature of the U.S. state of Minnesota. At 67 members, half as many as the Minnesota House of Representatives, it is the largest upper house of any U.S. state legislature. Floor sessions are h ...

, caused by the resignation of Democratic–Farmer–Labor (DFL) Senator

Tony Lourey Tony Lourey (born August 15, 1967) is an American politician. He is a former Minnesota commissioner of human services and former Democratic–Farmer–Labor (DFL) member of the Minnesota Senate, representing District 11. Early life, education, ...

effective on January 3, 2019, to be appointed as commissioner of human services in

Governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

Tim Walz's cabinet. A primary election was held on January 22, 2019, to nominate a DFL candidate.

Jason Rarick Jason Rarick ( ; born October 21, 1969) is an American politician and a Republican member of the Minnesota Senate. He represents District 11 in east-central Minnesota. He was a member of the Minnesota House of Representatives from 2015 to 2019, ...

, the Republican nominee, won the special election. Rarick's win caused a

special election A by-election, also known as a special election in the United States and the Philippines, a bye-election in Ireland, a bypoll in India, or a Zimni election (Urdu: ضمنی انتخاب, supplementary election) in Pakistan, is an election used to f ...

for the seat he held in the Minnesota House of Representatives.

Background

District 11 includes all of Carlton and

Pine A pine is any conifer tree or shrub in the genus ''Pinus'' () of the family (biology), family Pinaceae. ''Pinus'' is the sole genus in the subfamily Pinoideae. The World Flora Online created by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew and Missouri Botanic ...

counties, the eastern half of

Kanabec County Kanabec County ( ) is a county in the East Central part of U.S. state of Minnesota. As of the 2020 census, the population was 16,032. Its county seat is Mora. History The Minnesota legislature authorized creation of Kanabec County on March 13 ...

, and a small part of southern St. Louis County in east-central Minnesota. Lourey first represented the area when it was District 8 after winning election in 2006, succeeding his mother, Becky Lourey, who did not seek re-election. In the last election in 2016, Lourey won with 55 percent of the vote.

Candidates

The candidate filing period was from January 4 to January 8, 2019.

Minnesota Democratic–Farmer–Labor Party

The Senate District 11 DFL held a convention to endorse a candidate in Barnum on January 19, 2019. Michelle Lee won the endorsement over Stu Lourey. Lourey conceded the endorsement after Lee received just one vote less than the 60 percent of votes needed to win outright out of more than 150 delegates. Lourey said after the convention he would continue to campaign for the DFL nomination in the primary election.

Declared

* Michelle Lee, former Duluth area television news anchor; candidate for Minnesota's 8th congressional district in 2018 * Stu Lourey, legislative aide for U.S. Senators

Al Franken Alan Stuart Franken (born May 21, 1951) is an American comedian, politician, media personality, and author who served as a United States senator from Minnesota from 2009 to 2018. He gained fame as a writer and performer on the television comed ...

and Tina Smith; son of

Republican Party of Minnesota

District 11 Republican delegates held a convention to endorse a candidate in Hinckley on January 8, 2019. District 11B Representative

won the endorsement over deputy chair of the Eighth Congressional District Republicans Justin Krych. Mayor of Pine City Carl Pederson and Mathias Shir did not receive any votes. All candidates who were not endorsed agreed to withdraw their candidacies.

Declared

, member of the Minnesota House of Representatives for District 11B since 2015

Withdrawn

* Justin Krych, deputy chair of the Eighth Congressional District Republicans; candidate for

District 7 in 2002 * Carl Pederson, mayor of Pine City since 2015 * Matthias Shir, electrical engineer

Legal Marijuana Now Party

John Birrenbach John “Sparky” Birrenbach (born May 17, 1961) is an American businessman, marketing consultant, writer, filmmaker, and marijuana rights activist. Birrenbach, who founded the Institute for Hemp, was named ''High Times'' magazine's 1993 Freedom ...

, business and marketing consultant;

Independent Grassroots Party The Independent Grassroots Party was a moderate, democratic socialist political third party in the U.S. state of Minnesota created in 1996 to oppose drug prohibition. The party shared many of the progressive values of the Farmer-Labor Party but ...

candidate for U.S. President in 1996; Independence Party candidate for Minnesota House of Representatives District 65B in

2000 File:2000 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Protests against Bush v. Gore after the 2000 United States presidential election; Heads of state meet for the Millennium Summit; The International Space Station in its infant form as seen from ...

Primary election

Results

Late ballots

Prior to the primary election, some voters voting by mail expressed concerns they would not receive their ballots or their ballots would not arrive in time to be counted. Carlton County's auditor said the short time frame of the special election and supply shortages made it difficult to promptly mail ballots. Minnesota law requires, when a vacancy occurs while the

Legislature A legislature is an deliberative assembly, assembly with the authority to make laws for a Polity, political entity such as a Sovereign state, country or city. They are often contrasted with the Executive (government), executive and Judiciary, ...

is in session, that the governor issue a writ within five days of a vacancy occurring for a special election to be held within 35 days after the writ is issued. If a primary election is required, it must be held within 14 days before the special election. Several hundred mail-in ballots did not arrive in time to be counted. In Carlton County, which had approximately 2,300 registered voters in mail-only precincts, 250 ballots arrived three days after the primary election and a further 12 three days later. In Pine County, which had 752 registered voters in mail-only precincts, a total of 43 ballots had arrived late as of three days after the primary election. Carlton County's auditor predicted as many as 400 ballots would arrive late. Minnesota Secretary of State Steve Simon said he would ask the Legislature to increase the time frame for holding future special elections given the number of late ballots.

Results

References

External links

Elections & Voting - Minnesota Secretary of State

District 11 special election - Minnesota Secretary of State
;Official campaign websites
Michelle Lee (DFL) for State Senate

Stu Lourey (DFL) for State SenateJason Rarick (R) for State Senate
{{Minnesota elections Minnesota Senate District 11 special election Minnesota special elections

Background

Candidates

Minnesota Democratic–Farmer–Labor Party

Declared

Republican Party of Minnesota

Declared

Withdrawn

Legal Marijuana Now Party

Primary election

Results

Late ballots

Results

See also

References

External links