A special election was held in the U.S. state of Minnesota on February 4, 2020, to elect a new member for District 30A in the Minnesota House of Representatives, caused by the resignation of Republican member Nick Zerwas. A primary election was held on January 14, 2020, to nominate Republican candidate. Paul Novotny, the Republican nominee, won the special election.
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Minnesota House of Representatives District 30A | |||||||||||||||||
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Background
editOn November 25, 2019, District 30A incumbent Nick Zerwas announced he would resign a week later on December 6. Zerwas, who was born with a congenital heart defect and had recently undergone heart surgery, said he would like to spend more time with his family and to better support them outside of the Legislature.[1] On November 27, 2019, Governor Tim Walz announced the date of the special election, which will be held before and allow the winner to be seated by the February 11 reconvening of the 91st Minnesota Legislature.[2]
District 30A represents southeastern Sherburne County and a small part of northeastern Wright County. Zerwas first represented the district after winning election in 2012, succeeding fellow Republican Mary Kiffmeyer, who retired to seek election to the Minnesota Senate. In the last election in 2018, Zerwas won with 64 percent of the vote.
Candidates
editThe candidate filing period was from December 3 to December 10, 2019.[3]
Republican Party of Minnesota
editDistrict 30A Republican delegates held a convention to endorse a candidate in Elk River on December 7, 2019. Paul Novotny won the endorsement over Kathy Ziebarth on the first ballot. Ziebarth said after the convention she would continue to seek the Republican nomination in the primary election.[4]
- Paul Novotny, Sherburne County sheriff's office sergeant[5]
- Kathy Ziebarth, registered nurse anesthetist; U.S. Air Force veteran[4]
Minnesota Democratic–Farmer–Labor Party
edit- Chad Hobot, internet marketer[6]
Withdrawn
edit- Michelle Rockhill[4]
Primary election
editResults
edit| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican Party of Minnesota | Paul Novotny | 1,136 | 86.98 | |
| Kathy Ziebarth | 170 | 13.02 | ||
| Subtotal | 1,306 | 100.00 | ||
| Minnesota Democratic–Farmer–Labor Party | Chad Hobot | 152 | 100.00 | |
| Total | 1,458 | 100.00 | ||
| Invalid/blank votes | 3 | 0.21 | ||
| Turnout (out of 26,159 registered voters)[7] | 1,461 | 5.59 | ||
| Source: Minnesota Secretary of State[8] | ||||
Results
edit| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | +/− | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican Party of Minnesota | Paul Novotny | 1,983 | 63.44 | −0.87 | |
| Minnesota Democratic–Farmer–Labor Party | Chad Hobot | 1,141 | 36.50 | +0.87 | |
| Write-ins | 2 | 0.06 | −0.01 | ||
| Total | 3,126 | 100.00 | ±0.00 | ||
| Invalid/blank votes | 0 | 0.00 | −1.68 | ||
| Turnout (out of 25,938 registered voters)[9] | 3,126 | 12.05 | −56.08 | ||
| Source: Minnesota Secretary of State[10] | |||||
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ Van Berkel, Jessie (November 25, 2019). "4-term Minnesota Rep. Nick Zerwas, battling heart condition, to resign". Star Tribune. Retrieved February 3, 2020.
- ^ Van Oot, Torey (November 27, 2019). "Gov. Tim Walz sets special election date for two state House seats". Star Tribune. Retrieved February 3, 2020.
- ^ "House District 30A Special Election". Minnesota Secretary of State. Archived from the original on January 4, 2020. Retrieved February 3, 2020.
- ^ a b c Boyle, Jim (December 15, 2019). "Two Republicans, one DFLer seek seat; Novotny, Ziebarth to face off in Jan. 14 primary". Star News. Adams Publishing Group. Retrieved February 3, 2020.
- ^ "Novotny will seek to replace Zerwas in House". Star News. Adams Publishing Group. November 30, 2019. Retrieved February 3, 2020.
- ^ "Hobot announces bid, wins DFL nod". Star News. Adams Publishing Group. December 21, 2019. Retrieved February 3, 2020.
- ^ "Statewide Reporting Statistics". Minnesota Secretary of State. Retrieved February 3, 2020.
- ^ "Results for State Representative District 30A". Minnesota Secretary of State. Retrieved February 3, 2020.
- ^ "Statewide Reporting Statistics". Minnesota Secretary of State. Retrieved February 5, 2020.
- ^ "Results for State Representative District 30A". Minnesota Secretary of State. Retrieved February 5, 2020.