Fall general election matchups are set after candidates competed in primaries Tuesday for every seat in the Minnesota Legislature.
On the Republican side, many of the most competitive races were between more traditional or moderate Republicans backed by business groups and outsider candidates supported by the New House Republican faction or Action 4 Liberty.
The biggest victories of the night for the former came when Sens. Paul Utke and Eric Pratt defeated their endorsed challengers. However, the latter racked up victories with wins from candidates like Rep. Erik Mortensen, Tom Dippel, Nathan Wesenberg, Mark Bishofsky, Bill Lieske, and Pam Altendorf.
Here’s a roundup of results from some of the key races:
GOP:
- Rep. Erik Mortensen defeated Bob Loonan in House District 54A by 10 points. This was their third primary meeting. Mortensen has won every time.
- Sen. Eric Pratt fended off endorsed challenger Natalie Barnes in Senate District 54 with an eight-point victory.
- Sen. Paul Utke easily defeated endorsed challenger Bret Bussman by more than 20 points.
- Sen. Gene Dornink crushed challenger Lisa Hanson in Senate District 23 by a 40-point margin.
- Tom Dippel trounced Rep. Tony Jurgens in Senate District 41 by 20 points.
- Nathan Wesenberg pulled out a five-point victory over Steve Wenzel and Jim Newberger in Senate District 10. This means retiring Senate Majority Leader Paul Gazelka could be replaced by Wesenberg.
- Mark Bishofsky beat Tina Riehle in House District 33B by 20 points.
- Bill Lieske won by more than 20 points in Senate District 58 over Jake Cordes.
- Pam Altendorf managed a narrow four-point victory over Jesse Johnson in House District 20A.
- Sen. Gary Dahms defeated Larvita McFarquhar by a whopping 84 points in Senate District 15.
- Rep. Ron Kresha easily survived a primary challenge from Chuck Parins in House District 10A.
- Isaac Schultz won a three-way primary over Blake Paulson and John Ulrick by 20 points in House District 10B.
- House Minority Leader Kurt Daudt beat challenger Rachel Davis by more than 40 points in House District 27B.
DFL:
- Controversial Rep. John Thompson lost by almost 80 points to endorsed challenger Liz Lee in House District 67A.
- Sen. Omar Fateh survived a challenge from former teachers union leader Shaun Laden in Senate District 62.
- Rep. Aisha Gomez easily defeated challenger Osman Ahmed in House District 62A.
- Erin Maye Quade, a former state representative, defeated Justin Emmerich in Senate District 56.
- Sen. Sandy Pappas beat challenger Sheigh Freeberg in Senate District 65.
Anthony Gockowski
Anthony Gockowski is Editor-in-Chief of Alpha News. He previously worked as an editor for The Minnesota Sun and Campus Reform, and wrote for the Daily Caller.
