Sen. Mark Johnson leads Minnesota State Senate primary in District 1

Ingrid Harbo, Grand Forks Herald
·1 min read

Aug. 10—In the primary election on Tuesday, Aug. 9, Republican voters in northwestern Minnesota decided which candidate will represent the party in the November race for a seat in the Minnesota State Senate in District 1.

At 10:45 p.m. with 219 of 315 precincts reporting, incumbent Sen. Mark Johnson had 86.5% of the vote and newcomer Dave Hughes had 13.5% of the vote. So far, 6,066 votes have been counted.

All vote totals are unofficial, preliminary results.

Johnson, East Grand Forks, is serving his second term in the Minnesota State Senate and was first elected in 2016.

Although this year was his first time running for a seat in the state senate, Hughes, Karlstad, is no newcomer to running for office. In 2016, 2018 and 2020, he ran for a seat in the U.S. House of Representatives in Minnesota District 7, which includes most of western Minnesota. In 2016 and 2018, he won the primaries for a spot in the general election, but was defeated both times by Democratic incumbent Colin Peterson. In 2020, U.S. Rep. Michelle Fischbach beat him in the primary election.

District 1 encompasses all of Kittson, Roseau, Marshall, Pennington, Red Lake, Polk and Norman counties, as well as a small portion of northern Clay County.

Minnesota state senators serve four-year terms, except when redistricting happens. Current state senators are serving a two-year term, as redistricting took place this year, but the winners of the November election will serve a four-year term. State senators make $48,250 per year.