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A hometown newspaper with a local office, local owners & lots of local news
Former State Senator (and grandmother to Stu) Becky Lourey and Gina Shervheim of Bruno consult their phones and discuss the values of both winning and losing. "I lost four times," said Becky. "If I hadn't lost, I wouldn't have had the time to work on what was needed in rural Minnesota and help author MinnesotaCare when I did win."
Jodi Christensen signs in to vote with election judges Ann Stangland and Jessica Loons at Cloquet City Hall Tuesday afternoon, while her husband, Don, waits his turn. Almost 250 voters had come through by that time, judges said.
District 11 State Senator-elect Jason Rarick (second from left) poses with members of his campaign team Banning Junction Tuesday night as they awaited election results. Rarick won with 52 percent of the vote.
DFL candidate Stu Lourey shares a heartfelt hug with his mom, Marlana Benzie-Lourey, after the results were in from Tuesday's special election and he did not win. If he had won, Lourey would have become the third generation to hold the state senate seat, after his grandmother Becky Lourey, and dad, Tony Lourey.
Republican Jason Rarick is the new Minnesota State Senator for District 11, after defeating DFL candidate Stu Lourey in Tuesday's special election.
Rarick pulled in 8,127 (52 percent) votes to Lourey's 7171 (46 percent) with Legal Marijuana Now candidate John "Sparky" Birrenbach garnering 298 votes, or almost 2 percent in unofficial results posted on the Secretary of State's website.
Voter turnout in Carlton County was 34.4 percent with 7,178 total voters, versus 80 percent in November's general election, when 16,497 people voted.
In Cloquet, Don and Jodi Christensen voted just before 5 p.m. Tuesday at City Hall. The couple agreed that voting is important.
"As you watch events here and around the world unfold, if you don't like it, you'd better get involved and vote," said Don.
Carlton County Auditor Paul Gassert struggled to recall the last special election in Carlton County, guessing it was in the 1980s, when there was a countywide special election to decide whether or not to combine the county offices of auditor and treasurer.
Rarick's win sets up another special election for his Minnesota House of Representatives 11B spot, but that House district does not include Carlton County. Senate District 11 includes all of Carlton and Pine Counties, and parts of St. Louis and Kanabec Counties.
In a phone interview with the Pine Knot News, Rarick thought his experience made the difference to voters.
"I think my experience in the construction industry and being a small-business owner really related well to the people in the district, because there's so much manufacturing, construction and farming - plus my four years in the House also made a difference to people.
"I just want to thank voters for putting their trust in me to be their senator," he added. Rarick gathered with supporters at Banning Junction in Finlayson election night, while Lourey and fans set up camp at the River Inn Bar & Grill. The back room of the Scanlon bar got more and more somber as the night wore on and supporters anxiously watched phone and computer screens for the latest numbers on the Secretary of State's website.
Lourey conceded the Senate District 11 Special Election to Rarick just before 10 p.m., he told supporters, reappearing after spending close to an hour in a more private room to watch results come in.
"I congratulated Representative Rarick just a few moments ago," he told the crowd. "We don't always see eye to eye on all of the issues but I know that Jason cares deeply about our communities and I know he'll work heard to serve us well. I look forward to partnering where I can to help him do that."
Lourey thanked everyone for coming out, and for all the time they'd put into getting the word out about his campaign and the special election for the primary and the general election. Lourey estimated they knocked on 10,000 doors. They were still knocking and calling people on election day.
"I want to thank you all for this incredible month," he said, getting a few chuckles from the crowd when he mentioned the vastly accelerated timeframe of the special election.
Then it was hugs all around, with supporters of all ages and family members.
"Running a race from your heart is so needed for people and I feel like Stu did that and will continue to do that," said a teary-eyed Gina Shervheim. "I'm grateful for that."
In the end, the election wasn't as close as many watchers on both sides had anticipated.
While Lourey won Carlton County with 4,034 (56 percent) votes to Rarick's 2,970 (41.5 percent) and 137 (1.9 percent) for Birrenbach, the voting was much more lopsided in Pine County. There, Rarick pulled in 3,717 votes (61.5 percent) to Lourey's 2,216 (36.6 percent) with Birrenbach again getting about 2 percent. The five precincts in St. Louis County voted 186 (57 percent) for Lourey to 126 (almost 39 percent) for Rarick and 7 (2.16 percent) for Birrenbach. In Kanabec County, Rarick garnered the most votes, with 1,314 (63 percent) voting for Rarick, 735 (35.2 percent) for Lourey and 36 (1.7 percent) for Birrenbach.
Rarick was still home on Wednesday morning, but he was heading back to St. Paul and his current job as state representative around noon. He wasn't sure of the exact timeline of his transition, but said election results were set to be certified Friday, so he expected to resign from the House after that and probably be sworn into his Senate seat early next week.
Rarick said he doesn't expect to change his focus much as a senator.
"I will focus on jobs, economic development and energy issues," he said. "Specifically for our area, I believe broadband infrastructure is crucial for our small towns and schools. I think Carlton County is pretty similar to Pine and Kanabec so I don't think it will be much of a transition to represent the whole area ."
Rarick said he plans many more trips north.
"I want to get to know the people of Carlton County and I will try to get up there as much as I can," he said.
