List of special elections to the Minnesota House of Representatives
This is a list of special elections to the Minnesota House of Representatives . Such elections are called by the governor of Minnesota to fill vacancies that occur when a member of the Minnesota House of Representatives dies or resigns before the biennial general election. Winners of these elections serve the remainder of the term and are usually candidates in the next election for their districts.
General elections are held in November of even numbered years. New Legislatures convene on the first Tuesday following the first Monday of the following year.
Special elections
District
Legislature
Date
Predecessor
Successor
Cause
66A
66th
April 8, 1969
Marvin E. Christianson Sr. (DFL)
Donna Jean Christianson (DFL)
Death.[ 1]
26A
79th
August 1, 1995
Gene Hugoson (R)
Bob Gunther (R)
11B
80th
November 7, 1997
Ken Otremba (DFL)
Mary Ellen Otremba (DFL)
Death (cancer).
17A
80th
January 6, 1998
LeRoy Koppendrayer (R)
Sondra Erickson (R)
Resigned to become a member of the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission .
23A
80th
January 20, 1998
Barb Vickerman (R)
James Clark (R)
51B
80th
January 27, 1998
Doug Swenson (R)
Ray Vanderveer (R)
7A
81st
November 2, 1999
Willard Munger (DFL)
Dale Swapinski (DFL)
Death (liver cancer).
12B
82nd
November 6, 2001
Steve Wenzel (DFL)
Greg Blaine (R)
Resigned to become State Director of Rural Development in the United States Department of Agriculture .
47A
82nd
March 4, 2002
Darlene Luther (DFL)
John Jordan (R)
Death (stomach cancer).
40A
83rd
February 3, 2003
Dan McElroy (R)
Duke Powell (R)
Resigned to become Commissioner of the Minnesota Department of Finance.
52B
83rd
February 11, 2003
Mark Holsten (R)
Rebecca Otto (DFL)
Resigned to become Deputy Commissioner of Natural Resources.
32B
83rd
February 25, 2003
Rich Stanek (R)
Kurt Zellers (R)
Resigned to become Sheriff of Hennepin County .
18A
83rd
December 30, 2003
Tony Kielkucki (R)
Scott Newman (R)
Resigned following appointment to a position in the Minnesota Secretary of State 's Office.[ 2]
15B
84th
December 27, 2005
Joe Opatz (DFL)
Larry Haws (DFL)
Resigned to become Interim President of Central Lakes College.[ 3]
28B
85th
August 7, 2007
Steve Swiggum (R)
Steve Drazkowski (R)
Resigned to become Minnesota Commissioner of Labor and Industry .[ 4]
5B
87th
February 15, 2011
Tony Sertich (DFL)
Carly Melin (DFL)
Resigned following appointment to Commissioner of Iron Range Resources and Rehabilitation Board .[ 5]
61B
87th
January 10, 2012
Jeff Hayden (DFL)
Susan Allen (DFL)
Resigned following election to Minnesota Senate .[ 6]
14A
88th
February 12, 2013
Steve Gottwalt (R)
Tama Theis (R)
Resigned to become the director of state legislative policy for the Center for Diagnostic Imaging.
19A
88th
February 12, 2013
Terry Morrow (DFL)
Clark Johnson (DFL)
Resigned to become the legislative director for the Uniform Law Commission .
46A
89th
November 3, 2015
Ryan Winkler (DFL)
Peggy Flanagan (DFL)
Resigned to relocate to Belgium.[ 7]
3A
89th
December 8, 2015
David Dill (DFL)
Rob Ecklund (DFL)
Death (cancer).[ 8]
50B
89th
February 9, 2016
Ann Lenczewski (DFL)
Chad Anderson (R)
Resigned to join Lockridge Grindal Nauen P.L.L.P.[ 9]
32B
90th
February 14, 2017
Bob Barrett (R)
Anne Neu (R)
Ruled ineligible to be a candidate in the 2016 general election by the Minnesota Supreme Court .[ 10]
23B
90th
February 12, 2018
Tony Cornish (R)
Jeremy Munson (R)
Resigned due to allegations of sexual harassment.[ 11]
11B
91st
March 19, 2019
Jason Rarick (R)
Nathan Nelson (R)
Resigned after winning a special election to the Minnesota Senate .[ 12]
60A
91st
February 4, 2020
Diane Loeffler (DFL)
Sydney Jordan (DFL)
Death (cancer).[ 13]
30A
91st
February 4, 2020
Nick Zerwas (R)
Paul Novotny (R)
Resigned to spend more time with his family and to seek employment outside of the Legislature.[ 14]
52B
93rd
December 5, 2023
Ruth Richardson (DFL)
Bianca Virnig (DFL)
Resigned to focus on role at Planned Parenthood .[ 15]
27B
93rd
March 19, 2024
Kurt Daudt (R)
Bryan Lawrence (R)
Resigned.[ 16] [ 17]
See also
References
^ "Voters in District 66A" . The Minneapolis Star . April 8, 1969. p. 1Y. Retrieved December 1, 2023 .
^ "Newman, Scott J. - Legislator Record - Minnesota Legislators Past & Present" .
^ "Opatz, Joseph Paul "Joe" - Legislator Record - Minnesota Legislators Past & Present" .
^ "HHH : University of Minnesota - Home Page" . Archived from the original on 2011-07-20.
^ "Mr Sertich appointed as commissioner of Iron Range Resources Board" .
^ https://www.minnpost.com/politicalagenda/2011/07/25/30305/state_rep_jeff_hayden_to_run_for_berglins_senate_seat .
^ Lopez, Ricardo (May 21, 2015). "Minnesota Rep. Ryan Winkler will resign seat as family relocates to Belgium" . Star Tribune . Retrieved July 31, 2015 .
^ Walsh, Paul (August 9, 2015). "NE Minnesota Rep. David Dill, championed outdoors, dies from cancer" . Star Tribune . Retrieved September 17, 2015 .
^ Bakst, Brian (November 16, 2015). "Prominent Democratic state Rep. Lenczewski to resign House seat, take job in lobbying firm" . Star Tribune . Associated Press . Archived from the original on November 17, 2015. Retrieved November 16, 2015 .
^ Montgomery, David (September 8, 2016). "Lawmaker doesn't live in district, MN Supreme Court rules; ballot won't count" . Pioneer Press . Retrieved September 19, 2016 .
^ Coolican, J. Patrick (November 21, 2017). "Minnesota state Rep. Tony Cornish to resign after harassment claims" . Star Tribune . Retrieved December 4, 2017 .
^
^ Miller, Pamela (November 17, 2019). "Minnesota DFL Rep. Diane Loeffler dies of cancer at 66" . Star Tribune . Retrieved February 4, 2020 .
^ Van Berkel, Jessie (November 25, 2019). "4-term Minnesota Rep. Nick Zerwas, battling heart condition, to resign" . Star Tribune . Retrieved February 3, 2020 .
^ Griffith, Michelle (2023-12-06). "Democrat Bianca Virnig wins special election for Minnesota House seat" . Minnesota Reformer . Retrieved 2024-02-12 .
^ Mohr, Jonathan (2024-01-10). "Former House speaker Daudt announces resignation" . Minnesota House of Representatives . Retrieved 2024-02-12 .
^ Mohr, Jonathan (2024-03-20). "Republican candidate easily wins District 27B special election" . Minnesota House of Representatives . Retrieved 2024-04-02 .
External links