Minnesota House of Representatives District 23B special election, 2018
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A special election was held in the
U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sover ...
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 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minnesota is home to western prairies, now given over to ...
on February 12, 2018, to elect a new representative for District 23B in the
Minnesota House of Representatives The Minnesota House of Representatives is the lower house of the Legislature of the U.S. state of Minnesota. There are 134 members, twice as many as the Minnesota Senate. Floor sessions are held in the north wing of the State Capitol in Saint Pa ...
, caused by the resignation of
Tony Cornish Tony Cornish (born May 3, 1951) is a retired American police officer and former politician from the Republican Party. He was a member of the Minnesota House of Representatives. He resigned in disgrace from the Minnesota House on November 30, 2017 ...
effective on November 30, 2017. A primary election was held on January 29, 2018, to nominate a
Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...
candidate. It coincided with the Minnesota Senate District 54 special election. The Republican nominee,
Jeremy Munson Jeremy Munson (born December 31, 1975) is an American businessman and politician. A member of the Republican Party of Minnesota, Munson represented District 23B in the Minnesota House of Representatives. He lives on a farm outside Lake Crystal, M ...
, won the special election.


Background

In November 2017, several women accused Representative
Tony Cornish Tony Cornish (born May 3, 1951) is a retired American police officer and former politician from the Republican Party. He was a member of the Minnesota House of Representatives. He resigned in disgrace from the Minnesota House on November 30, 2017 ...
of sexually harassing them. On November 21, 2017, Cornish announced he would resign by the end of the month, which he did on November 30, 2017. District 23B represents parts of the counties of Blue Earth, Le Sueur, Waseca, and Watonwan. Cornish had represented the area since 2003, replacing retiring DFL incumbent
Henry Kalis Henry Joseph Kalis (March 2, 1937 – September 12, 2018) was an American politician who was a member of the Minnesota House of Representatives, representing southern Minnesota. First elected in 1974, Kalis was reelected every two years until he ...
—who represented the area since 1975. In the last election in 2016, Cornish won with 67 percent of the vote compared to his DFL opponent's 34 percent.


Candidates

Candidate filings were open from January 8 through January 11. As multiple Republican candidates filed for office, a primary election was held on January 29, 2018, to determine which candidate received the party's nomination.


Republican Party of Minnesota

District 23B Republican delegates held a convention to endorse a candidate on December 21, 2017. Chair of the Minnesota First Congressional District Republicans
Jeremy Munson Jeremy Munson (born December 31, 1975) is an American businessman and politician. A member of the Republican Party of Minnesota, Munson represented District 23B in the Minnesota House of Representatives. He lives on a farm outside Lake Crystal, M ...
won the endorsement after one ballot with support of 75 percent of delegates.
Watonwan County Watonwan County is a County (United States), county in the U.S. state of Minnesota. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 11,253. Its county seat is St. James, Minnesota, St. James. History In 1849, the recently o ...
Commissioner Scott Sanders also sought the endorsement. Sanders did not confirm whether he would abide by it. He ended up filing on the last day of the filing period and cited support he received as well as people asking him to run over the previous several weeks as reasons in deciding to run. Sanders also said the time frame was too short for the endorsement process to work effectively. *
Jeremy Munson Jeremy Munson (born December 31, 1975) is an American businessman and politician. A member of the Republican Party of Minnesota, Munson represented District 23B in the Minnesota House of Representatives. He lives on a farm outside Lake Crystal, M ...
, chair of the Minnesota First Congressional District Republicans * Scott Sanders, member of the
Watonwan County Watonwan County is a County (United States), county in the U.S. state of Minnesota. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 11,253. Its county seat is St. James, Minnesota, St. James. History In 1849, the recently o ...
Board of Commissioners since 2003


Withdrawn

* Brad Ahrenstorff, mayor of Lake Crystal ** Said the short election time frame made it difficult for family and work scheduling.


Minnesota Democratic–Farmer–Labor Party

District 23B DFL delegates held a convention to endorse a candidate on December 28, 2017. Melissa Wagner won the endorsement. * Melissa Wagner,
school social worker School social work is a specialized area of social work concerned with the psychosocial functioning of students to promote and maintain their health and well-being. The School Social Work Association of America defines school social workers as "tr ...


Write-in candidates

* Nicholas Schmitz (
write-in candidate A write-in candidate is a candidate whose name does not appear on the ballot but seeks election by asking voters to cast a vote for the candidate by physically writing in the person's name on the ballot. Depending on electoral law it may be poss ...
), middle school teacher ** Cited the requirement of gathering 500 signatures over the four-day filing period for third party and independent candidates in deciding to run as a write-in candidate.


Primary election

Scott Sanders' decision to continue to seek the Republican nomination was criticized by several local Republican officials, saying he was hindering Republican endorsed candidate
Jeremy Munson Jeremy Munson (born December 31, 1975) is an American businessman and politician. A member of the Republican Party of Minnesota, Munson represented District 23B in the Minnesota House of Representatives. He lives on a farm outside Lake Crystal, M ...
's ability to concentrate on running against DFL nominee Melissa Wagner. The chair of the
Le Sueur County Le Sueur County is a county located in the south central portion of the U.S. state of Minnesota. As of the 2020 census, the population was 28,674. Its county seat is Le Center. Le Sueur County is part of the Minneapolis-St. Paul- Bloomington, ...
Republicans, Al DeKruif, said Sanders was putting Munson at a disadvantage. Shortly after the close of candidate filings, Cornish endorsed Sanders, saying he was "rock solid" on important issues, including
Second Amendment The second (symbol: s) is the unit of time in the International System of Units (SI), historically defined as of a day – this factor derived from the division of the day first into 24 hours, then to 60 minutes and finally to 60 seconds eac ...
protections. Cornish, who retained a lot of popularity in the district, said he decided to make an endorsement because he was receiving calls and questions from former constituents about whom they should support. Sanders appreciated the endorsement, saying he trusted and respected Cornish. Several local and state Republican officials criticized Cornish for not supporting the endorsed candidate. DeKruif said Cornish did not deserve a say in the process due to the circumstances of his resignation. Munson said Cornish should not have made an endorsement so late in the election process. In response, Cornish said he had nothing to lose by making an endorsement since he did not plan on running for office ever again.


Results

Jeremy Munson Jeremy Munson (born December 31, 1975) is an American businessman and politician. A member of the Republican Party of Minnesota, Munson represented District 23B in the Minnesota House of Representatives. He lives on a farm outside Lake Crystal, M ...
won the Republican nomination over Scott Sanders in the primary election. Munson said he was pleased with the results and that they reaffirmed the endorsement process. Sanders congratulated Munson and said he appreciated everyone who turned out to vote.


Results

Republican nominee
Jeremy Munson Jeremy Munson (born December 31, 1975) is an American businessman and politician. A member of the Republican Party of Minnesota, Munson represented District 23B in the Minnesota House of Representatives. He lives on a farm outside Lake Crystal, M ...
won over DFL nominee Melissa Wagner. Republicans claimed their victory showed their agenda still had wide support among the electorate. Republican Party of Minnesota Chair
Jennifer Carnahan Jennifer Carnahan (born 1976) is an American politician who served as the chair of the Republican Party of Minnesota from 2017 to 2021. On March 14, 2022, she declared her candidacy for a special election in Minnesota's 1st congressional distric ...
said Munson's win proved Republican
President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) *President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...
Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021. Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of Pe ...
was still popular in Greater Minnesota. Democrats had hopes that momentum seen in recent special election wins in other states would similarly show and translate into a victory for Wagner.


See also

*
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 b ...


References


External links


District 23B special election - Minnesota Secretary of State
{{Minnesota elections 2018 Minnesota elections Minnesota special elections