2020 Minnesota House of Representatives District 30A special election explained

Election Name:2020 District 30A special election
Country:Minnesota
Flag Year:1983
Type:by-election
Ongoing:no
Previous Election:2018 Minnesota House of Representatives election
Previous Year:2018
Election Date:February 4, 2020
Next Election:2020 Minnesota House of Representatives election
Next Year:2020
Seats For Election:Minnesota House of Representatives
District 30A
Nominee1:Paul Novotny
Party1:Republican Party of Minnesota
Popular Vote1:1,983
Percentage1:63.44%
Nominee2:Chad Hobot
Party2:Minnesota Democratic–Farmer–Labor Party
Popular Vote2:1,141
Percentage2:36.50%
Representative
Before Election:Nick Zerwas
Before Party:Republican Party of Minnesota
After Election:Paul Novotny
After Party:Republican Party of Minnesota

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.

Background

On 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

The candidate filing period was from December 3 to December 10, 2019.[3]

Republican Party of Minnesota

District 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]

Minnesota Democratic–Farmer–Labor Party

Withdrawn

Primary election

Results

Party!Candidate!Votes!%
Republican Party of MinnesotaPaul Novotny1,13686.98
Kathy Ziebarth17013.02
Subtotal1,306100.00
Minnesota Democratic–Farmer–Labor PartyChad Hobot152100.00
Total1,458100.00
Invalid/blank votes30.21
Turnout (out of 26,159 registered voters)[7] 1,4615.59
Source: Minnesota Secretary of State[8]

Results

Party!Candidate!Votes!%!+/−
Republican Party of MinnesotaPaul Novotny1,98363.44−0.87
Minnesota Democratic–Farmer–Labor PartyChad Hobot 1,14136.50+0.87
Write-ins20.06−0.01
Total3,126100.00±0.00
Invalid/blank votes00.00−1.68
Turnout (out of 25,938 registered voters)[9] 3,12612.05−56.08
Source: Minnesota Secretary of State[10]

See also

External links

Notes and References

  1. News: 4-term Minnesota Rep. Nick Zerwas, battling heart condition, to resign. Van Berkel. Jessie. November 25, 2019. Star Tribune. February 3, 2020.
  2. News: Gov. Tim Walz sets special election date for two state House seats. Van Oot. Torey. November 27, 2019. Star Tribune. February 3, 2020.
  3. Web site: House District 30A Special Election. Minnesota Secretary of State. February 3, 2020. January 4, 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20200104141026/https://www.sos.state.mn.us/election-administration-campaigns/elections-calendar/house-district-30a-special-election/. dead.
  4. News: Two Republicans, one DFLer seek seat; Novotny, Ziebarth to face off in Jan. 14 primary. Boyle. Jim. December 15, 2019. Star News. February 3, 2020. Adams Publishing Group.
  5. News: Novotny will seek to replace Zerwas in House. November 30, 2019. Star News. February 3, 2020. Adams Publishing Group.
  6. News: Hobot announces bid, wins DFL nod. December 21, 2019. Star News. February 3, 2020. Adams Publishing Group.
  7. Web site: Statewide Reporting Statistics. Minnesota Secretary of State. February 3, 2020.
  8. Web site: Results for State Representative District 30A. Minnesota Secretary of State. February 3, 2020.
  9. Web site: Statewide Reporting Statistics . . February 5, 2020.
  10. Web site: Results for State Representative District 30A . . February 5, 2020.