2013 Minnesota House of Representatives district 19A 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 19A in the Minnesota House of Representatives, caused by the resignation of Representative Terry Morrow on January 7, 2013. A primary election was held on January 29, 2013. The election coincided with the District 14A special election. Clark Johnson, the Minnesota Democratic–Farmer–Labor Party (DFL) nominee, won the special election.

District 19A special election, 2013

← 2012 February 12, 2013 (2013-02-12) 2014 →
The District 19A seat in the Minnesota House of Representatives
Nominee Clark Johnson Allen Quist Tim Gieseke Party Democratic (DFL) Republican Independence Popular vote 2,680 1,801 511 Percentage 53.69% 36.08% 10.24%
Precinct Results Johnson:      50-60%      60-70%      70-80%      80-90% Quist:      30-40%      40-50%      50-60% Gieseke:      50-60% Tie:      40-50% Johnson/Quist No Vote:
Representative before election Terry Morrow Democratic (DFL) Elected Representative Clark Johnson Democratic (DFL)

Background

On December 19, 2012, Representative Terry Morrow announced he would resign to join the Uniform Law Commission as its legislative director.^[1][2] He resigned on January 7, 2013, the day before the beginning of the new session of the Minnesota Legislature.^[3]

Candidates

Minnesota Democratic–Farmer–Labor Party

Nominee

• Clark Johnson (party endorsed), faculty member at Minnesota State University, Mankato^[4][5]

Withdrawn

• Robin Courrier, teacher; leader of local teachers' union^[6][7]
• Karl Johnson, farmer^[5][6]
• Tim Strand, Mayor of St. Peter^[6][8]

Republican Party of Minnesota

Nominee

• Allen Quist (party endorsed), 2012 Republican candidate for the 1st congressional district; two-time candidate for Governor of Minnesota; former member of the Minnesota House of Representatives^[9]

Withdrawn

• Joel Brinker, former St. Peter city council member^[9][10]
• Jim Golgart, Le Sueur County Veterans Services officer^[5][11]

Independence Party of Minnesota

Nominee

• Tim Gieseke (party endorsed), small business owner^[6][12]

Primary election

The Minnesota Democratic–Farmer–Labor Party (DFL) did not endorse a candidate until after the deadline for withdrawing (January 16 at 5:00 p.m.), leaving the candidates that did not win the party endorsement unable to withdraw their candidacies, causing a primary election. The losing candidates said they would abide by the endorsement.^[6]

Election		Candidate	Votes	%
	District 19A special election, 2013: DFL primary[13]	Clark Johnson	641	66.29
		Karl Johnson	252	26.06
		Tim Strand	51	5.27
		Robin Courrier	23	2.38
	District 19A special election, 2013: Republican primary[13]	Allen Quist	105	100.00
	District 19A special election, 2013: Independence primary[13]	Tim Gieseke	55	100.00

Results

Election	Political result		Candidate		Party	Votes	%
District 19A special election, 2013[14] Resignation of Terry Morrow Voters: 4,992 (−71.76%)		DFL hold Plurality: 879 (17.61 pp)		Clark Johnson	DFL	2,680	53.69
				Allen Quist	Republican	1,801	36.08
				Tim Gieseke	Independence	511	10.24

Previous election results

Election	Political result		Candidate		Party	Votes	%
Minnesota House of Representatives elections, 2012[15] Redrawn district Voters: 17,679		DFL win		Terry Morrow	DFL	17,263	97.65
				Write-in	N/A	416	2.35