Don't expect a rematch in House 11A

It was another close race for Minnesota House District 11A Tuesday, with the incumbent Rep. Jeff Dotseth (R-Kettle River) edging repeat DFL challenger Pete Radosevich by 664 votes, 51.1 percent to 48.4 percent of 23,840 votes cast in all of Carlton County and parts of Pine and St. Louis counties. In 2022, Dotseth won by 454.

“I am a firm believer in the power of prayer,” Dotseth wrote in a statement to the Pine Knot Wednesday. “I’d like to thank my lord and savior Jesus Christ, my wife and my family, as well as all the members of team Dotseth. The support we have received from our constituents this election is beyond humbling. This truly was a team effort.”

Radosevich said he left everything on the field in this election cycle. “There is nothing more we could have done,” he said. The effort for the House seat will be his last, he said. “I’m too old to run again. I’ll leave it to a younger person to reflect on the values they want to bring to the district.”

Radosevich is 60 and works as an attorney. Dotseth is 57 and works in real estate.

Pine County voters gave Dotseth a 492-vote advantage. It’s a county where voters went 2-1 for Donald Trump in the presidential race. Radosevich picked up 59 votes in St. Louis County, which went mostly Democratic.

Carlton County gave Dotseth a 231 vote advantage.

Radosevich said it was difficult to overcome negative feelings about the economy. He got a lot of support from the Minnesota DFL party, which was trying to stave off losses in the House to keep a majority across the board in St. Paul. As of Wednesday, both parties had equal representation, with some recounts coming in tight races. (See story below.)

Radosevich said some of the DFL help came in door knockers, and he says there was too much focus on the story on Dotseth that came out in September about his past domestic abuse case. “They should have hammered on his record of getting nothing done in the legislature,” he said.

Dotseth said he will carry on as a watchdog in St. Paul.

“Much work remains to be done in solving local challenges as well as significant statewide issues,” he said in his response. “We especially have to stop the reckless spending and unnecessary tax increases Democrats passed in the current state budget.”

Radosevich said he learned a lot in the past two campaigns.

“It was fantastic getting to know Carlton County even better,” he said. ”It’s been amazing.”

Dotseth said he looks “forward to building on the accomplishments we achieved together during my first term.”