Incumbents Stepping Aside in Bloomington and Richfield

Who will be on our local ballots for MN House? 

MN House Rep. Dario Anselmo (R-Edina) was endorsed for re-election by House District 49A Republicans, and he filed as expected. However, in House Districts 49B and 50A, the endorsed DFL candidates both stepped aside before filing. In the case of Rep Paul Rosenthal (House District 49B), his formal statement came after the candidate filing deadline had passed.

Sun_Current_logo.jpgAs Mike Hanks, of the Bloomington Sun Current, posted on June 12, 2018, “On the final day of the filing period, voters learned that Rep. Paul Rosenthal would not be returning to St. Paul for a fifth term next year. Rosenthal announced that he had accepted a position as the director of external affairs for Western Governors University, a nonprofit organization based in Salt Lake City, Utah.”

Rosenthal has been the House District 49B representative since 2013. “His seat will go to either Democrat Steve Elkins of Bloomington, the Metropolitan Council’s representative for Bloomington and Edina, or Republican Matt Sikich of Edina. Three Republicans had filed for the seat, but two withdrew by the June 7 deadline.”

CLICK HERE to read further about candidates in Bloomington and Richfield, as described by Mike Hanks in his June 12 Sun Current posting

Rep. Linda Slocum had previously announced she would not seek a seventh term this fall. Slocum (D-Richfield) represents House District 50A, which includes northeast Bloomington and south and west Richfield. The seat will continue to be held by a Richfield resident, as Democrat Michael Howard, a Richfield City Council member, and Republican Kirsten Johnson have filed to replace Slocum.

For the third time, the election in House District 50B will feature Republican Chad Anderson and Democrat Andrew Carlson. Both have held the seat during the past three years. Anderson served for nearly a year as he won a special election in early 2016 to fill the vacated seat. The rematch in the fall of 2016 went to Carlson, who is completing his first term this year. The district is entirely within Bloomington, covering the south and central portions of the city.

This fall’s election will also include both of Minnesota’s U.S. Senate seats as well as its eight seats in the U.S. House of Representatives. Bloomington is in the Third Congressional District, which has been represented by Erik Paulsen (R-Eden Prairie) since January 2009. Paulsen is unopposed within his party, but two Democrats filed for the seat, Dean Phillips of Deephaven and Cole Young of Eden Prairie.

Voters seeking to cast ballots in Democratic-Farmer-Labor primary elections on Aug. 14 will determine which candidate faces Paulsen in November. Primary voters will also be able to cast ballots for DFL and GOP candidates in other elections, including both U.S. Senate seats, governor, attorney general and county sheriff. Primary voters will only be able to cast votes for candidates from one party, with the sheriff’s race being a nonpartisan election.

The city and school district do not have seats up for election this fall. The general election will be held Nov. 8.