The ballots are in and voters have spoken.
Governor
DFL candidate Amy Klobuchar and her running mate Ben Scheirer will be taking the reins in January 2027, as Amy takes the seat of Minnesota’s next governor.
Statewide election results show she won with 55.46% of the votes over Republican Lisa Demuth who earned 42.63% of the votes. Out of 87 counties, Klobuchar won the vote in 16 counties, while Demuth carried the majority of voter support from 71 rural Minnesota counties.
Demuth won over voters in the southeast counties of Fillmore (57.91%) and Houston (54.50%). In neighboring Mower County, it was a different story, where Klobuchar narrowly won with 49.16% compared to Demuth with 48.52%.
U.S. Senator
DFLer Peggy Flanagan will continue her service to Minnesotans after winning 53.71% of the votes compared to Republican Michelle Tafoya who lost with 43.56% of the votes.
Tafoya won support from the counties of Fillmore (58.24%), Houston (53.64%), and Mower (48.34%).
Congress – 1st
Congressional District
Teacher Jake Johnson beat out incumbent Brad Finstad by just 323 votes, giving the DFL a foothold on Minnesota’s 1st Congressional District for which they haven’t held since Tim Walz left that seat to become Minnesota’s Governor.
In Fillmore County and Houston County, it was a different story. Finstad claimed 57.46% and 53.42% of the votes, respectively. In Mower County, Johnson earned 51.64%.
State Senator – District 26
With Senator Jeremy Miller not seeking re-election, the field was open for candidates Cherie Johnson (R) and Jack Hedin (DFL).
In total, Johnson won 51.36% of the votes to claim victory. When looking at votes by county, she won Fillmore (58.97%), Houston (54.65%) and Mower (69.16%), but only captured 44.57% from Winona. Overall, she won by 1,120 votes.
State Representative –
District 26B
Incumbent State Representative Gregory M. Davids won again with 59.10% of the votes. Fillmore County showed up with 61.1% of the votes. Houston County gave him another 55.29%. And the east side of Mower County gave him 70.02% of their voter confidence.
In total, Davids prevailed with 3,814 more votes than DFL challenger Allie Wolf.
County Commissioners
In Fillmore County, with longtime District 4 County Commissioner Duane Bakke retiring, Shona Langseth and Justin Redalen were poised for a tight race.
When all the votes were counted, Redalen prevailed with 79 more votes than Langseth to pull off a victory. Similar to the primary election in August, Langseth won the majority in Lanesboro and Preston, while Redalen won Fountain and the rural township vote.
In Houston County, longtime District 2 County Commissioner Eric Johnson faced challenger Dean Mierau. Johnson won his bid for re-election with 56.63% of the votes.
Cities
In Canton, Bailey Hanson and Jeremy Hanson claimed the two available seats.
John McBroom retained his seat as mayor of Chatfield, winning 77% of the votes compared to Steven Hulbert who earned 22.33%.
In Fountain, there will be a new mayor and two new council members. Jordan Kerns beat current Mayor Ron Reisner with 54.08% of the votes. Theodore Reinhardt and Wayne Thomas will be taking fresh seats at the council table.
For Harmony, longtime Mayor Steve Donney will be handing over the keys to Kerry Kingsley – who won the majority with 63.64% of the votes.
The stage has been set for new leadership in Lanesboro. Current Mayor Alicia Pearson will be vacating her seat, with longtime resident Rick Darling winning 60.33% of the votes. In addition, Hal Cropp and Brian Roelofs will be joining the Lanesboro City Council in January.
For the Mabel City Council, Lexis Thorson and Cory Wilson earned the most votes.
Longtime Mayor Kurt Reicks will continue his role for the City of Preston, beating challenger Mel Hayner with 58.24% of the votes.
In addition, Alison Leathers and Jonathon Woods each won a seat on the Preston City Council, beating Dorle Grindland Kaase.
There were four residents seeking the opportunity to serve on the Spring Valley City Council with only two seats to fill. Luan Ruesink (36.10%) and Brent Kohn (35.26%) prevailed.
For Wykoff, Missy Musel and Jeff Hare claimed victory.
In Caledonia, with four challengers and only two seats on the ballot, David Fitzpatrick (34.41%) and Taylor Skauge (23.46%) won a chance to serve their community.
For La Crescent voters, there were a lot of decisions to make. Mikel Poellinger took the seat of mayor with 52.22% of the votes, beating challenger April Carlson. There were eight residents vying for an opportunity to serve on the La Crescent City Council, but only two seats up for grabs. In the end, Teresa O’Donnell-Ebner (24.33%) and Steve Bissen (20.65%) prevailed.
In Spring Grove, Aimee Murphy won the seat of mayor with 59.47% of the votes. Joe Grodahl and Sean Young claimed two seats on the city council.
School Boards
The Chatfield School Board had five contenders but only three seats to fill. Josh Thompson, Danielle Hoffman and Jeremiah Halloran earned the most votes to have a voice on the school board.
For Rushford-Peterson Public Schools, Nancy Snyder (26.84%), Carl Schollmeier (25.98%) and Jeff Michel (28.59%) garnered the most votes, with Brett Kues earning 17.43%. Snyder, Schollmeier and Michel prevailed.
Fillmore Central voters selected Jennifer Pickett, Aaron Bishop, Aaron Scheevel and Sue Sikkink to lead the way in 2027.
In a field of six candidates, Lisa Schultz, Michael Boldt, Nicole Johnson and Sara Laufenberg won the four available seats on the Houston School Board.
Voters elected Chad Harms, Whitney Steele, Michael Peterson and Derek Adamson to the Caledonia School Board.
Questions on the Ballots
In Preston, voters were asked if they would support an investment of up to $6 million to finance a new swimming pool and related facilities. With 65.06% of those in favor, Preston will be forging ahead with plans for a new aquatic center.
For Lanesboro Public Schools, voters supported a referendum proposing to increase the general education revenue by $850 per pupil with 53.56% in favor.
Caledonia Public Schools had two questions on the ballot for voters. With 55.43% in favor, Caledonians supported the idea of investing $9.7 million into school sites and facilities, including safety and security improvements along with exterior and interior construction projects.
When it came to investing $3 million to fund STEM facilities, voters declined with 52.27% saying no.
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