Dakota County Election Results: Commissioners, Legislature, Judges

Welcome to Patch's Dakota County hub for all things Election 2012.

This page will offer some historical perspective of recent voting in Dakota County, along with up-to-the-moment election results for races across the county. It will also have links to Patch's local (think city and school board) as well as state and federal (think senate and president) election coverage. 

•  | Dakota County election results including judicial races | Local coverage: Lakeville | Burnsville | Eagan | Apple Valley/Rosemount | Northfield | Inver Grove Heights | Mendota Heights | Scroll down to see Dakota County election results including judicial races

RESULTS

While house and senate races are incredibly important and dramatic, there are a number of other races in the county, and state, which you will find results for by scrolling down, including:

• County Commissioner seats 1, 3, 4, 5, 6 and 7
• Soil and Water Supervisor seats for regions 1, 2, 4 and 5
• First District Court seats 2, 6, 10, 14, 19, 20, 26 and 29
• Minnesota Supreme Court and Court of Appeals

To find results for the Presidential election, senate race, congressional election and constitutional amendment questions, you can find all the up-to-the-minute results here on Patch by clicking here.

If you're looking for results on those local races around the towns of Dakota County, such as school board, city council, and mayoral elections, you can visit the Patch site of your choice:

• Lakeville |Burnsville | Eagan | Apple Valley/Rosemount |Northfield | Inver Grove Heights | Mendota Heights
  

STATE SENATE

* - Denotes incumbent

All precincts are reporting except for supreme court results.

Senate District 51 (Eagan and Burnsville) Name                       Party Total Votes Percentage * Ted Daley GOP 21096
46.73 √ Jim Carlson DFL 23969
53.09 Senate District 52 (Mendota Heights, Inver Grove Heights, South St. Paul) Name Party Total Votes Percentage Dwight Rabuse GOP 16542 37.78 √ * James Metzen DFL 27149 62 Senate District 54 (Hastings) Name Party Total Votes Percentage Janis Quinlan GOP 5473 34.46 √ * Katie Sieben DFL 10383 65.37 Senate District 56 (Burnsville, Savage and Lakeville) Name Party Total Votes Percentage √ * Dan Hall GOP 14293 52.44 Leon Thurman DFL 12908 47.35
Senate District 57 (Apple Valley and Rosemount; was GOP held seat) Name Party Total Votes Percentage Pat Hall GOP 20199 45.73 √ Greg Clausen DFL 23890 54.09 Senate District 58 (Lakeville, Farmington and southern townships) Name Party Total Votes Percentage √ * Dave Thompson GOP 23457 57.61 Andrew Brobston DFL 17210 42.27

STATE HOUSE

House District 51A (Burnsville and Eagan) Name                       Party Total Votes Percentage * Diane Anderson GOP  9354
44.28 √ Sandra Masin DFL  11724
55.49 House District 51B (Eagan) Name Party Total Votes Percentage * Doug Wardlow GOP 11298 48.01 √ Laurie Halverson DFL 12210 51.88
House District 52A (Mendota Hights, West St. Paul, South St. Paul) Name Party Total Votes Percentage Joe Blum GOP 8216 37.36 √ * Rick Hansen DFL 13732 62.45 House District 52B (Inver Grove Heights)
Name Party Total Votes Percentage Paul Tuschy GOP 7430 33.85 √ * Joe Atkins DFL 14493 66.02 House District 54B (Hastings) Name Party Total Votes Percentage √ * Denny McNamara GOP 7206 58.83 Joanna Bayers DFL 5023 41.01 House District 56A (Savage and Burnsville) Name Party Total Votes Percentage √ * Pam Myhra GOP 10905 53.9 Dave John Jensen DFL 9278 45.9 House District 56B (Burnsville and Lakeville) Name Party Total Votes Percentage Roz Peterson GOP 10515 49.52 √ Will Morgan DFL 10685
50.32 House District 57A (Apple Valley and Lakeville) Name Party Total Votes Percentage √ * Tara Mack GOP 11420 53.37 Roberta Gibbons DFL 9941 46.46 House District 57B (Apple Valley and Rosemount) Name Party Total Votes Percentage √ Anna Wills GOP 11906 53.18 Jeff Wilfahrt DFL 10452 46.69 House District 58A (Lakeville) Name Party Total Votes Percentage √ Mary Liz Holberg GOP 12419 59.09 Colin Lee DFL 8574 40.80 House District 58B (Farmington and southern townships) Name Party Total Votes Percentage √ * Pat Garofalo GOP 11870 59.53 Jim Arlt DFL 8052 40.38

DAKOTA COUNTY COMMISSIONERS

Commissioner District 1 (Farmington, Hastings, Southern Townships) Name Total Votes Percentage Christy Jo Fogarty 11715 41.54 √ Mike Slavik 16355 58.00 Commissioner District 3 (Eagan, Mendota Heights) Name Total Votes Percentage √ * Thomas Egan 23604 98.74 Commissioner District 4 (Eagan, Rosemount, Inver Grove Heights) Name Total Votes Percentage Bill Klein 12689 48.86 √ * Nancy Schouweiler 13158 50.67 Commissioner District 5 (Burnsville) Name Total Votes Percentage Dave Giles 9308 37.50 √ * Liz Workman 15363 61.89 Commissioner District 6 (Lakeville) Name Total Votes Percentage √ Paul Krause 21795 99.00 Commissioner District 7 (Apple Valley, Rosemount) Name Total Votes Percentage √ Chris Gerlach 15625 59.96 Victoria "Vicki" Swanson 10300 39.53

DAKOTA COUNTY SOIL AND WATER SUPERVISORS

Commissioner District 1 (Burnsville, Eagan, Inver Grove Heights) Name Total Votes Percentage Joan M. Gabriel 20759 14.86 Scott A. Holm 20524 14.69 Williams Hoots, III 11277 8.07 John Ross 18361 13.15 * Paul Thomas 24649 17.65 √ Laura Zanmiller 42859 30.68 Commissioner District 2 (Lakeville, Farmington, Apple Valley) Name Total Votes Percentage √ Marian Brown 56289 39.52 * Jason Swenson 55338 38.85 Thomas A. Walkington 29389 20.63 Commissioner District 4 (Southeast Townships) Name Total Votes Percentage √ * Chris Nielsen 137866 98.78 Commissioner District 5 (Southwest Townships) Name Total Votes Percentage √ * Joe Meyers 137321 98.89

1ST DISTRICT COURT (DAKOTA COUNTY SEATS)

Judge 2 Name Total Votes Percentage √ * Arlene M. Asencio Perkkio    131119 98.99 Judge 6 Name Total Votes Percentage √ * David L. Knutson 131955 99.12 Judge 10 Name Total Votes Percentage √ * Diane M. Hanson 99144 64.62 Michael L. Larson 53753 35.03 Judge 14 Name Total Votes Percentage √ * Michael J. Meyer 130554 99.13 Judge 19 Name Total Votes Percentage √ * Erica H. MacDonald 130457 99.15 Judge 20 Name Total Votes Percentage √ * Kathryn D. Messerich 102572 66.57 Brian A. Gravely 50985 33.09 Judge 26 Name Total Votes Percentage √ * Michael R. Savre 130043 99.17 Judge 29 Name Total Votes Percentage √ * Terry E. Conkel 129852 99.12

MINNESOTA SUPREME COURT AND COURT OF APPEALS

Minnesota Supreme Court Chief Justice Name  Total Votes Percentage √ * Lorie Skjerven Gildea 1284098 59.99 Dan Griffith 847915 39.62 Minnesota Supreme Court Associate Justice 1 Name Total Votes Percentage √ * Barry Anderson 1227822 58.93 Dean Barkley 847574 40.68 Minnesota Supreme Court Associate Justice 4 Name Total Votes Percentage √ * David R Stras 1141358 55.93 Tim Tingelstad 890736 43.65 Minnesota Court of Appleals Associate Judge 6 Name Total Votes Percentage √ * Renee L. Worke 1759028 98.98 Minnesota Supreme Court Associate Justice 1 Name Total Votes Percentage √ * Jill Flashkamp Halbrooks 1720217 99.03

RECENT HISTORY

All THE WAY BACK TO 2008

Despite a unique mix of rural, suburban, and quasi-urban communities, Dakota County is still home to much of the power that makes up Minnesota's Republican party.

• Scroll down to see election results.

In 2008, Democrats were riding a wave of liberal strength, buoyed by soon-to-be President Barack Obama, but Dakota County voters generally sided more with Republicans on the ballot. Statewide, Obama beat John McCain by 10 points, 54 percent to 44 percent, but in Dakota County, it was much closer, with Obama winning by just six points—52 percent to 46.

In that 2008 election, the DFL was hoping to oust some of Dakota County's more entrenched GOP legislators, including some of the party's biggest leaders in Farmington's Pat Garofalo and Lakeville's Mary Liz Holberg, banking on the massive wave of Democratic support and infusion of young voters to make it happen. In the end, it sort of did—the DFL gained two seats in the house when Rosemount's Phil Sterner beat incumbent GOPer Judy Lindsay, and Eagan's Mike Obermueller beat longtime GOP Rep. Lynn Wardlow. But the gains were tempered when GOP newcomer Tara Mack beat Apple Valley's DFL incumbent Sandra Masin.

At the end of 2008, the DFL controlled seven of Dakota County's 11 legislative seats and four of the six senate seats.

• Scroll down to see election results.

THE 2010 TIDAL WAVE

Nothing could have prepared voters, or the county, for what would happen in 2010. The DFL was holding massive majorities in the legislature—a 87-47 majority in the house, and a 46-21 majority in the senate. Yet a wave was coming, buoyed by a growing Tea Party movement, and continued resentment over the recession gripping the country.

Dakota County voted much more conservative than the state in the senate race, and it foretold the story to come for the DFL seats in the legislature. Despite winning the state by narrow margin, Gov. Mark Dayton lost the gubernatorial race in Dakota County to Tom Emmer by 8 percentage points—47-39.

What did that mean for the legislative races? When the dust finally settled on the 2010 election, the GOP had flipped 25 house seats state-wide and 17 senate seats, giving the Republicans majorities in both bodies for the first time ever.

• Scroll down to see election results.

In Dakota County, the DFL lost five house seats and two senate seats. In Eagan, Republican Ted Daley took Jim Carlson's senate seat, and in Burnsville Dan Hall took John Doll's DFL controlled seat. Rosemount's Kurt Bills beat Phil Sterner for his house seat, Eagan's Diane Anderson took back the house seat she lost to Sandra Masin two years earlier, and Eagan also ousted DFLer Mike Obermueller, replacing him with Lynn Wardlow's son, and GOPer, Doug Wardlow. GOP newcomer John Kriesel took a seat in South Saint Paul that was vacated by a DFLer not running again, and Burnsville's Pam Myhra defeated DFL incumbent Will Morgan for his seat.

In one election, the DFL went from controlling seven of the county's 11 house seats to controlling just two, and from controlling four of the six senate seats, to just two.

WHAT TO WATCH FOR THIS YEAR

On Nov. 6, Minnesota's DFL will be looking to gain six seats to retake control of the house, and four senate seats to regain control of the senate. Currently, the GOP has a 72–62 majority in the house and a 37-30 majority in the senate.

• Scroll down to see election results.

Redistricting has caused some major shifts, but the county still has the same number of house and senate districts.

On the senate side, there are six districts in Dakota County: 51, 52, 54, 56, 57 and 58. Each of those are split into two house districts, but one—54A—is in southern Washington County, leaving the county with 11 seats.

Incumbents are seeking re-election in all but one of the senate seats. In Apple Valley and Rosemount's Senate District 57, incumbent GOPer Chris Gerlach is running for County Commissioner. Meanwhile, on the house side, three races technically feature open seats, but one of those—58A—includes Mary Liz Holberg, who moved to a new district following redistricting. The other two are Brunsville/Lakeville's 56B which is basically a new house district, and Apple Valley/Rosemount's 57B which is held by Kurt Bills who is seeking a U.S. Senate seat and not running for re-election to the Minnesota House.