The following article by Sean Miner was posted on the Sun-Current website February 7, 2018:
Both major parties held their District 48A precinct caucuses at Eden Prairie High School Feb. 6. There, the parties elected local delegates, individuals were able to express views for their preferred direction for the party and each party took a straw poll for the upcoming 2018 governor’s race.
Precinct-by-precinct results have not yet been fully released, but the parties have noted winners in the straw pool. Republican Jeff Johnson and DFL member Tim Walz won in their respective parties.
Eden Prairie-specific data from the DFL was not yet available, but the Third Congressional District, of which Eden Prairie is a part, tallied 4,256 gubernatorial straw poll votes. Walz, with 1,301, was the district winner, followed most closely by Rebecca Otto with 1,150 and Erin Murphy with 1,024.
On the GOP side, Minnesota Senate District 48, which contains Eden Prairie, also voted similarly to the state at large, favoring Jeff Johnson with 74 votes. Next best in that poll was Keith Downey with 40 and Phillip Parrish with 22.
All told, nearly three times as many caucusers turned out for the DFL events, by tally in the straw poll. According to the parties, 10,909 votes were cast in the GOP poll, while 28,989 votes were cast in the DFL poll.
Locally, Eden Prairie voters will have a lot of choices to make on their 2018 ballots. Current Eden Prairie City Councilmembers Brad Aho and Ron Case have announced runs for the city’s mayorship, after current mayor Nancy Tyra-Lukens declined to run for re=election. City Councilmembers Sherry Butcher Wickstrom and Kathy Nelson’s terms are also set to expire.
At the state level, Reps. Laurie Pryor (DFL-48A) and Jenifer Loon (R-48B) will be seeking re-election. State Sen. Steve Cwodzinski’s seat will not be up for re-election until 2020. A small part of Eden Prairie is covered by District 49B, represented by Paul Rosenthal, whose seat will also be up for re-election.
At the federal level, Third District Congressman Erik Paulsen (R-Eden Prairie) is seeking a sixth term in the U.S. House of Representatives. Minnesota’s senior senator, Amy Klobuchar, is running for re-election to a third term in the U.S. Senate, and a special election will take place with regard to Sen. Al Franken’s old seat, which is now occupied by former Lt. Gov. Tina Smith.
For more information on any of the races facing Eden Prairie voters this fall, visit the Minnesota Secretary of State’s website at sos.state.mn.us.
View the post here.