By Warren Strandell – Polk County Commissioner, District 2
Without getting into the politics, here are few numbers from the Primary Election that might be of interest. The numbers are those that the media generally doesn’t report (probably because they aren’t of a lot of interest to most):
- Polk County, with a population estimate of 31,364 (as of July 1, 2019), has 16,702 registered voters. Of that number, 28 registered on Election Day.
- 4,774 persons voted in the Primary. This represented 28.58% of the registered voters.
- Republicans cast 2,067 ballots or 43.3% of the total.
- Democrats cast 2,174 ballots or 45.5% of the total.
- Nonpartisan voters cast 9.95% of the total while the Legalize Marijuana issue drew 38 voters or .8% of the total.
MINNESOTA DISTRICT 7
Of contests with races of significance in Minnesota’s massive District 7 are these (totals are from Polk County only):
- Michelle Fischbach received 1,035 votes of the Republican votes to be the U.S. Representative candidate or 50.56% of the total. Dave Hughes received 620 votes, 30.29%, and Noel Collis got 336 votes or 16.41%.
- Congressman Collin Peterson received 81.69% of the Democrat votes, while challengers Alycia Gruenhagen received 11.07% and Stephen Emery received 7.24%.
- For U.S. Senator on the Republican ballot, Jason Lewis received 1,298 votes or 66.2% of the total, while John Berman received 281 votes or 14.29%, and Cynthia Gail received 205 votes, 10.43%.
- Democratic voters gave Senator Tina Smith 1,672 votes or 82% of the vote total in her effort to win a full term in the U.S. Senate. Her main challenger was Steve Carlson who received 188 votes or 9.22% of the total.
NO POLK COUNTY RACES
There were no Primary Election contests in Polk County. Primary elections are held when there are more than two candidates for an office. Primary Elections are held to narrow the field to two candidates for the General Election.
Polk County voters will determine three of the commissioners in General Election voting on Nov. 3.
Polk County has 63 of its 82 precincts that vote by Mail Ballot. Largely because of restrictions imposed because of the COVID-19 pandemic, this number increased by six from the total prior to the Presidential Primary that was held in March. It is likely that additional precincts could opt for mail balloting before the General Election in November.
THOUGHTS FOR THE DAY:
Socialism is a philosophy of failure, the creed of ignorance, and the gospel of envy. Its virtue is the equal sharing of misery. — Winston Churchill
You should always be better than you are— John Mayasich (hockey player)
Disclaimer: Thoughts expressed in this column are those of the author and are not necessarily a reflection of the opinions of the other members of the Polk County Board of Commissioners.
