2013 Minnesota House of Representatives district 14A special election

A special election was held in the U.S. state of Minnesota on February 12, 2013, to elect a new representative for District 14A in the Minnesota House of Representatives, caused by the resignation of Representative Steve Gottwalt on January 7, 2013. A primary election was not held. The election coincided with the District 19A special election. Tama Theis, the Republican Party of Minnesota nominee, won the special election.

District 14A special election, 2013

← 2012 February 12, 2013 (2013-02-12) 2014 →
The District 14A seat in the Minnesota House of Representatives
Nominee Tama Theis Joanne Dorsher Party Republican Democratic (DFL) Popular vote 2,670 2,091 Percentage 54.51% 42.69%
Precinct Results Theis:      50-60%      60-70%      70-80% Dorsher:      40-50%      50-60%      60-70%
Representative before election Steve Gottwalt Republican Elected Representative Tama Theis Republican

Background

On January 3, 2013, Representative Steve Gottwalt announced that he would resign to take a job as the director of state legislative policy for the Center for Diagnostic Imaging.^[1] He resigned on January 7, 2013, the day before the beginning of the new session of the Minnesota Legislature.^[2]

Candidates

Minnesota Democratic–Farmer–Labor Party

Nominee

• Joanne Dorsher (party endorsed), former St. Cloud school board member^[3][4]

Declined

• Jerry McCarter, former candidate for the Minnesota Senate^[4][5]

Republican Party of Minnesota

Nominee

• Tama Theis (party endorsed), small business owner^[4][6]

Withdrawn

• Scott Mac Hardy, Iraq War veteran^[4][6]
• James Parmele^[7]
• John Severson, former St. Cloud city council member^[4][6]

Independence Party of Minnesota

Nominee

• Todd McKee, small business owner; part-time truck driver^[8]

Results

Election	Political result		Candidate		Party	Votes	%	∆pp
District 14A special election, 2013[9] Resignation of Steve Gottwalt Voters: 4,898 (−74.29%)		Republican hold Plurality: 579 (11.82 pp) +3.72		Tama Theis	Republican	2,670	54.51	−5.39
				Joanne Dorsher	DFL	2,091	42.69	−3.11
				Todd McKee	Independence	130	2.65	N/A
				Write-in	N/A	7	0.14	−0.15

Previous election results

Election	Political result		Candidate		Party	Votes	%
Minnesota House of Representatives elections, 2012[10] Redrawn district Voters: 19,051		Republican win Plurality: 1,543 (8.10 pp)		Steve Gottwalt	Republican	10,269	53.90
				Anne Nolan	DFL	8,726	45.80
				Write-in	N/A	56	0.29