Primary colors

"What primary election?"

Tomorrow is Primary Election Day in Minnesota. There are many primary contests in play tomorrow. For the location of your polling place and a printable sample ballot customized to your precinct, visit the Minnesota Secretary of State web site. For the partisan races, you may only vote in the primary election of one party. There is also a nonpartisan ballot (containing mostly judges) on which all voters may vote.

The races I am watching:

Hennepin County Commissioner: in District 7 where I live, the only conservative candidate on the ballot is Jeff Johnson. Johnson is a former HD 43A state representative, a candidate for state attorney general, and the Republican endorsee for this nonpartisan office. With tax increases without voter approval becoming de rigueur for funding unpopular boondoggles, the ocean liner Hennepin County needs a conservative course correction.

State Representative: in HD 33B, Republican endorsee Connie Doepke is my pick for reasons I detailed in an earlier post. Her longtime involvement in education issues at the local and legislative levels makes her highly qualified in this area, which consumes the largest portion of the state budget.

State Senate: most Senate seats are not up for election this year, but there is a special election in SD 16 this year due to the last-minute departure of Betsy Wergin to accept the Public Utilities Commission post. Former state representative Mark Olson received the endorsement, with Republican challenger Alison Krueger running against the endorsee in tomorrow's primary. Olson, a stalwart conservative, earned his local BPOU's endorsement with some statewide controversy due to spousal abuse allegations. Krueger is actively campaigning in the primary election despite signing a pledge to abide by the endorsement.

Please remember to vote in tomorrow's primary election.