Voters in Freeborn County and portions of Mower County re-elected House District 27A incumbent Robin Brown, DFL-Moscow Township, Tuesday to another two years in office, after defeating Republican challenger Erik Larsen of Albert Lea.

According to numbers from the Freeborn County Auditor-Treasurer’s Office, Brown won the race with a much larger victory than she came in with two years ago, winning 10,843 votes and Larsen winning 7,944 votes.

In 2006, she won by less than 300 votes against Republican Matt Benda.

The district includes all precincts in Freeborn County and five townships in Mower County.

“I would have just been happy to win again,” said Brown, an Albert Lea High School teacher. “I was saying if I could just do it by 1,000 I’d be very happy.”

The victory shows her people are willing to give her another two years to serve and that they approve of what she’s done in office so far, she said.

“My sole purpose is to serve,” she said. “It’s never been about me.”

Larsen conceded to Brown before the final results were in, as the gap between he and the incumbent widened. Brown waited until the numbers were final, however, to celebrate.

“I’d like it to have come out different, no doubt about it,” said Larsen, a field sales representative for the National Federation of Independent Business. “But we’ll get up tomorrow, go to work and get my life back to normal.”

He said he enjoyed the experience of running for office and said he’s “not going to say never about running again.”

“It was a tough year to be a Republican,” Larsen said.

He thanked his family for all the support they gave him.

“I couldn’t have done anything without them,” he said.

Brown said she wants people to know she’s not taking the position as a state House representative for granted, and she hopes people will continue contacting her with any concerns they have.

She also hopes to work with Larsen in the future on issues such as job growth in the area.

“I really do appreciate the race we ran,” Brown said. “It takes two good people to stand up.”

She’s counting on the people to keep her grounded and keep her informed of the issues most important to them, she said.

Brown’s husband, Joe Brown, also showed his excitement at his wife’s victory Tuesday.

“She is the best legislator I’ve ever witnessed,” he said. “And it’s not just because she’s my wife.”

He talked of her devotion to her constituents and how approachable she is for them.

People will come up to her in Hy-Vee and tell her their whole life story, he said.

The couple have raised six adult children who live across the Midwest, including Jeb, Nathaniel, Bristen, Crystal, Earnest and Madison.

Joe is the superintendent of Grand Meadow Schools.

Brown also raises horses.