On assignment for the Minnesota Reformer, we reported about a local Republican endorsing convention for House District 16B in South Central/Southwestern Minnesota, GOP candidate tied to notorious Dorr family taking on Rep. Paul Torkelson.
That night, Torkelson endorsed on first ballot by 77 percent of House District 16B Republican delegates,as we reported on Bluestem Prairie the next day. As we reported in the Reformer, she had reserved her right to run whether endorsed or not.
Filing for office in Minnesota closed on Tuesday, and we noticed she had exercised that right:
Paul Torkelson has a GOP primary challenger, https://t.co/mtW14VSXX7 #mnleg 1/2
— Sally Jo Sorensen (@sallyjos) June 2, 2020
The local papers don't seem to be picking up on this one, though Mark Fischenich leads with in the Mankato Free Press, the area's biggest regional paper, in Candidates set for state, county and some city offices; Munson, Torkelson face primary challenges from fellow GOPers:
A pair of Republican state representatives, including Rep. Jeremy Munson of Lake Crystal, got last-minute primary election challengers as the two-week filing period came to a close Tuesday. . . .
Down column:
Veteran Republican state Rep. Paul Torkelson of Lake Hanska also got a late primary challenge in House District 16B, which includes all of Brown County. Tamara Houle, R-Redwood Falls, filed for the seat on Tuesday. The winner of the Republican primary on Aug. 11 will face off against Marinda “Mindy” Kimmel, DFL-New Ulm, in the general election.
As we noted in Torkelson endorsed on first ballot by 77 percent of House District 16B Republican delegates, the New Ulm Journal reported on a Lucan/Marshall area couple who intended to file as minor party candidates in Senate District 16 and House District 16B. Neither filed by the deadline.
Redwood Falls' radio station KGLR picked up the story in Redwood’s Tammy Houle to run against Rep. Torkelson for House 16B seat:
Conservative activist Tammy Houle has filed for the 16B Minnesota House seat currently held by Paul Torkelson. The district covers all of Brown County, most of Redwood County, and a portion of southern Renville County.
Houle, from Redwood Falls, has served as a township officer for 28 years. She has a record of advocating for conservative causes, including pro-life and gun rights, and against mandated sex education. Houle, who will be running as a Republican, feels recent events show that Minnesotans deserve leaders who will fight for the Constitutional rights of all.
Houle stated, “Governor Walz’s unconstitutional executive orders have devastated business owners and employees alike. Torkelson has been inept in standing up and fighting for his constituents against left-wing influences”.
The primary is August 11.
Will Houle be able to use those conservative connections and years of service to the community to mount a credible campaign? Will Republican voters turn out for the primary?
Bears watching. We'll have more on the Munson challenger in a coming post.
Photo: Houle filing for office. Via KLGR.
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