It was a light turnout Tuesday as Minnesotans trickled through the local polling locations to vote in the bi-annual primary. But there were some heavy implications, particularly in a pair of local races, including one that will go down to the wire.
In Monticello, former city council member Tom Perrault is looking to make a bid to take the city’s seat on the Wright County Commission. He sailed through to the general election with more than 39.6 precent of the vote with about 89 percent of the votes counted. Who his challenger in the general will be remains to be seeen, as the race between Darek Vetsch and Brad Fyle looked like, Tuesday night, it would be “too close to call.” A recount may have to determine the winner, but Vetsch was holding a slight edge.
In Congressional District 6, U.S. Rep. Tom Emmer, who has made ripples in his first term as the heir to Michele Bachmann, easily ousted his challenger on the Republican side of the ballot. Emmer, who has encouraged new trade relations with Cuba at the national level and also worked on student rights, grabbed more than two-thirds of the votes cast in CD 6 to make his way to November’s election.
On the DFL side, David Snyder looks like he will hold back Judy E. Adams for the right to face off against Emmer in the fall. Snyder, an Army veteran and iron worker who battles for union rights, is a first-timer in the general election.
Conservative Consultant Peppin Gets the Nod in ISD 728
In Independent School District 728, which does serve portions of St. Michael, Albertville and all of Otsego here in Wright County, Gregg Peppin will be replacing Jane Bunting, the board member who retired earlier in 2016.
Peppin, a conservative consultant who spearheaded the GOP’s amazing win of the State Senate in 2010, is the husband of Rep. Joyce Peppin, the state’s House Majority Leader. The Peppin family did not send their daughters to schools in ISD 728, but Gregg Peppin ran on a ticket stating he would battle for students and parents within the district asking “what are we doing and is it best for our kids?” as he tackled board-related issues.
In the race for the general election, six of seven candidates advanced to fight for three remaining seats. Incumbent Holly Thompson, the current board chair, was the leading vote-getter on the night. Joining her in the general election will by Christi Tullbane, Joel Nelson, Kristian Mortenson, Gary Kowalkowski and John Parker.
Peppin will serve as the District 2 member, while the other three seats up for election in November are all at-large seats within ISD 728, which serves Elk River, Rogers, Otsego, Zimmerman and Big Lake Township as well as STMA.