The 2018 General Election ballot in Duluth is a two-sided monster with federal, state, county and judicial races galore, plus a three-parted school district referendum question. Election Day is Tuesday, Nov. 6.
With federal, state, county and judicial races on the ballot — and a triad of Duluth School Board questions — there’s plenty for voters to sort through this fall.
The countdown is on with eight weeks left to study up; the General Election will be held on Nov. 6. Below are the races that will appear on ballots in Duluth. Only one of the three Minnesota State Representative races affecting Duluth will appear on individual ballots. See the note on each for a description of which geographic areas apply.
There are plenty of federal and state offices up for grabs in 2018, and a little bit of St. Louis County action, but no Duluth City Council or Duluth School Board races.
Remember: Aug. 14 is one of those Primary Elections in which voters must choose a party. One can’t, for example, vote for a Republican governor and a DFL congressman. On the partisan portion of the ballot citizens must vote for the same party in all races. Below are the contests that will be on that ballot, and some notes about what will be part of the Nov. 6 General Election.
All candidates representing the Minnesota Green Party, Legal Marijuana Now Party, Independence Party, Libertarian Party or Grassroots-Legalize Cannabis Party are unopposed in the Primary Election and will appear on the General Election Ballot, as will any unaffiliated candidates.
With 34 of 34 precincts reporting.
Duluth At-large City Councilor
Top two candidates are elected
Zack Filipovich – 8,749 | 31.48%
Barbara Russ – 6,568 | 23.63%
Janet Kennedy – 6,053 | 21.78%
Rich Updegrove – 5,899 | 21.13%
Write in – 522 | 1.88%
District city council and school board races will appear only on ballots in the appropriate precincts. The location of candidates’ names will be different in each precinct; the names are rotated in accordance with the law.
The League of Women Voters 2017 Voter Guide is available in PDF format at lwvduluth.org.
Duluth residents who wish to vote absentee may do so in person in City Hall room 330 from Oct. 31 until Nov. 3 from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.; Saturday, Nov. 4, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.; or Monday, Nov. 6, from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Residents who are not registered with their current address must show proof of residency by providing one of the means allowed by law.
With 34 of 34 precincts reporting, here are the unofficial results.
Duluth At-large City Councilor
Top four candidates advance to General Election
Zack Filipovich – 3,859 | 27.97%
Barbara Russ – 2,797 | 20.27%
Janet Kennedy – 2,462 | 17.85%
Rich Updegrove – 2,456 | 17.80%
Jan Swanson – 1,222 | 98.86%
Brandon Sorvik – 604 | 4.38%
Richard L. Williams – 369 | 2.87%
Duluth Fourth District City Councilor
Top two candidates advance to General Election
Renee K. Van Nett – 622 | 44.94%
Howie Hanson – 468 | 33.82%
Tom Furman – 294 | 21.24%
Duluth At-large School Board Member
Top four candidates advance to General Election; two are elected
Sally Trnka – 3,929 | 30.00%
Josh Gorham – 3,558 | 27.17%
Harry Welty – 2,406 | 18.37%
Bogdana (Dana) Krivogorsky – 1,642 | 12.54%
Loren Martell – 1,560 | 11.91%
There are a mere two races on Duluth’s citywide Primary Election ballot for 2017 — city council at large and school board at large. Voters in District Four, the area highlighted on the map below, can also vote to whittle down the choices for that council seat.
Below are the offices up for grabs this fall and the names of those who filed to run before the Jan. 18 deadline. The Primary Election will be held Sept. 12. The General Election is Nov. 7.
Donald Trump wins the presidency nationwide. Hillary Clinton takes Minnesota, barely; in Duluth she nearly doubles Trump’s vote total.
Rick Nolan holds his congressional seat by just over 1,000 votes. Democrats and incumbents fare well in Duluth overall.
With 4,120 of 4,120 Minnesota precincts reporting, below are the unofficial statewide results in races relevant to Duluth.
President and Vice President of the United States
Hillary Clinton and Tim Kaine – 1,363,704 | 46.41%
Donald J. Trump and Michael R. Pence – 1,320,895 | 44.96%
Gary Johnson and William Weld – 112,767 | 3.84%
Evan McMullin and Nathan Johnson – 53,021 | 1.8%
Jill Stein and Howie Hawkins – 36,916 | 1.26%
Write in – 27,095 | 0.92%
Dan R. Vacek and Mark Elworth, Jr. – 11,275 | 0.38%
Darrell Castle and Scott Bradley – 9,454 | 0.32%
Alyson Kennedy and Osborne Hart – 1,668 | 0.06%
“Rocky” Roque De La Fuente and Mic – 1,428 | 0.05%
This ballot shows races on the western side of Duluth. Depending on where you live you might see:
State Representative District 3B
Timothy Brandon, Republican
Mary Murphy, Democratic-Farmer-Labor
State Representative District 7A
Dylan C. Raddant, Republican
Jennifer Schultz, Democratic-Farmer-Labor
County Commissioner District 2
Patrick Boyle
Linda Ross Sellner
… and then of course the back side has the judicial races.
With the election cycle now in full swing, the League of Women Voters Duluth has published an online Voter Guide — a tool for voters to know who their regional and local candidates are and where they stand on issues.
This is the first time the LWV of Duluth has offered its Voter Guide electronically. The 76-page PDF offers perspectives from candidates in 10 races on the Nov. 8 General Election ballot:
United States Representative District 8
State Senate District 7
State Representative District 3B
State Representative District 7A
State Representative District 7B
County Commissioner District 2
County Commissioner District 3
Minnesota Supreme Court Associate Justice
Sixth Judicial District Court 13
Sixth Judicial District Court 15
With all 4,120 precincts reporting statewide:
District 6A Minnesota State Representative (Republican Party)
Robert Farnsworth – 856 | 100%
District 6A Minnesota State Representative (Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party)
Julie Sandstede – 1,676 | 35.71%
Tom Whiteside – 1,468 | 31.19%
Ben DeNucci – 1,303 | 27.69%
Mike Thompson – 259 | 5.5%
District 7B Minnesota State Representative (Republican Party)
Cody Barringer – 494 | 100%
District 7B Minnesota State Representative (Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party)
Liz Olson -1,6,07 | 89.03%
Bryan Jensen – 198 | 10.97%
District 3 St. Louis County Commissioner
Beth Olson – 904 | 50.03%
Jay Fosle – 811 | 44.88%
Kim McKay – 92 | 5.09%
District 7 St. Louis County Commissioner
Michael A. Jugovich – 1,219 | 35.77%
Melissa Scaia – 1,122 | 32.92%
Jeff Polcher – 670 | 19.66%
Mary Jo Rahja – 397 | 11.65%
Minnesota Supreme Court Associate Justice 6
Natalie Hudson – 173,757 | 64.95%
Michelle L. MacDonald – 54,765 | 20.49%
Craig Foss – 38,906 | 14.56%
Minnesota’s State Primary election will be held on Tuesday, Aug. 9, in all election precincts within all cities, towns and unorganized areas of St. Louis County. Shown above is the state partisan side of the ballot for the Duluth area. Shown below is the state and county nonpartisan side of the ballot.
Minnesota Republican Party
Marco Rubio – 41,397 | 36%
Ted Cruz – 33,181 | 29%
Donald J. Trump – 24,473 | 21%
Dr. Ben Carson – 8,422 | 7%
John R. Kasich – 6,565 | 6%
Write in – 207 | 0.18%
Minnesota Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party
Bernie Sanders – 125,635 | 61%
Hillary Clinton – 78,317 | 38%
Uncommitted – 1,067 | 0.52%
Write in – 213 | .1%
Martin O’Malley – 153 | 0.07%
Rocque “Rocky” de la Fuente – 53 | 0.03%
