Filing continues for spots on Rochester, Olmsted County ballots

Randy Petersen, Post-Bulletin, Rochester, Minn.
Updated ·3 min read

May 23—ROCHESTER — Three candidates seeking to fill the Ward 2 Rochester City Council seat officially filed for a spot.

Nick Miller , Tripp Welch and Loring Stead submitted thier paperwork Thursday, seeking to replace Mark Bransford , who announced he won't seek a second term on the council.

The three filings mean an Aug. 13 primary election is expected in each council ward with a seat on the Nov. 5 ballot. The primary elections are set to narrow the field to two candidates in each race in the general election.

In Olmsted County races, Karl Johnson 's name was officially added to the list of candidates for the District 3 commissioner seat. Since he filed by petition on Tuesday, county staff had to verify the names before submitting the petition to the Minnesota Secretary of State's office.

Johnson, along with April Sutor , is challenging incumbent Gregg Wright for the seat in northeast Rochester. With three candidates, an Aug. 13 primary will be held.

May 22, 2024, report

ROCHESTER — A third candidate filed Wednesday, May 22, for the Ward 6 seat on the Rochester City Council.

Becca Dyer Tesch's filing makes way for a potential primary for the seat currently held by Molly Dennis.

Any race with more than two candidates will be set for an Aug. 13 primary election to reduce the number of candidates to two for the Nov. 5 general election ballot.

Dyer Tesch was the only candidate reported as filing in Rochester city and school races, along with Olmsted County races, on the second day of the two-week filing period, which ends June 4.

May 21, 2024, report

ROCHESTER — The two-week filing period for local elections where primary elections are possible began Tuesday.

On the first day, a combined seven candidates filed for three of the four Rochester City Council seats on the Nov. 5 general election ballot. No candidates in the southwest Ward 2 filed on the first day.

Two of three Rochester School Board incumbents filed in the district-wide races that require candidates to file for a specific seat.

With five Olmsted County commissioner seats set for the ballot, the Minnesota Secretary of State officially recorded filings by four incumbents and one challenger on Tuesday. A second challenger in District 3 filed by petition, which will require the signatures to be verified before being posted as an official candidate, according to Olmsted County Elections Manager Luke Turner.

The candidates that filed on Tuesday are:

* Shaun Palmer

* Randy Schubring

* No candidates filed

* Kelly Rae Kirkpatrick (incumbent)

* Andy Friederichs

* Cory Sorgenfrie

* Dan Doering

* Mark Schleusner

* Don Barlow (incumbent)

* Karen MacLaughlin (incumbent)

* No candidate filed

* Laurel Podulke-Smith (incumbent)

* Gregg Wright (incumbent)

* April Sutor

* Michelle Rossman (incumbent)

* No candidate filed

* Mark Thein (incumbent)

The filing period for all races runs through June 4. At that point, any race with more than two candidates will be set for an Aug. 13 primary election to reduce the number of candidates to two for the Nov. 5 general election ballot.