Kindler, Murtaugh win primary

Published 9:50 am Wednesday, August 11, 2010

Bob Kindler and Mark Harig advance in the race for Freeborn County sheriff. They will go head to head in the Nov. 2 general election. The campaigns for Ryan Merkouris and Marc Johnson come to a finish.

There are 40 out of 40 precincts reporting countywide. Here are results in the Freeborn County sheriff’s race for tonight:

Bob Kindler: 2,779

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Mark Harig (incumbent): 2,129

Ryan Merkouris: 540

Marc Johnson: 318

That gives Kindler 48 percent, Harig 37 percent, Merkouris 9 percent and Johnson 6 percent.

In the Albert Lea mayoral race, Mike Murtaugh and Vern Rasmussen will advance to the Nov. 2 general election tonight. Murtaugh topped Rasmussen by 245 votes. John Severtson trailed Rasmussen by more than a thousand votes. His campaign ends.

Six of six wards have reported their results so far. Here are the results of the primary election for that race:

Mike Murtaugh (incumbent): 1,631

Vern Rasmussen: 1,386

John Severtson: 255

That gives Murtaugh 50 percent, Rasmussen 42 percent and Severtson 8 percent.

Here are the percentages so far for Freeborn County in the DFL gubernatorial race:

Mark Dayton: 46 percent

Margaret Anderson-Kelliher: 35 percent

Matt Entenza: 19 percent

Refresh your browser to get updated results.

Statewide, Matt Entenza is conceding he can’t win Minnesota’s Democratic primary for governor as two others, Mark Dayton and Margaret Anderson Kelliher, battle it out for the nomination. With 30 percent of precincts reporting, Kelliher had a 15,000-vote lead over Dayton. She is the House speaker and he is a former U.S. senator.

Alyce Jacobsen hands Ruben Perez a sticker Tuesday after he voted at First Baptist Church of Albert Lea. -- Tim Engstrom/Albert Lea Tribune

Entenza was thought to be trailing before Election Day, and early returns bore that out.
Entenza spent $5 million of his own money on the race. Most of Entenza’s spending on persistent mailings and television ads came from a family fortune. His wife made millions as a health company executive.
Minnesota hasn’t had a Democratic governor in two decades, during which Republicans and third-party candidates have held the executive spot.

Here are statewide governor results tonight so far:

Governor DFL – Primary
3,144 of 4,136 precincts – 76 percent
Margaret Anderson Kelliher 154,895 – 41 percent
Mark Dayton 149,890 – 40 percent
Matt Entenza 68,144 – 18 percent
Peter Idusogie 2,425 – 1 percent

Governor GOP – Primary
3,144 of 4,136 precincts – 76 percent
x-Tom Emmer 87,714 – 84 percent
Bob Carney 7,196 – 7 percent
Leslie Davis 6,321 – 6 percent
Ole Savior 3,255 – 3 percent

Governor Independence – Primary
3,140 of 4,136 precincts – 76 percent
x-Tom Horner 9,864 – 67 percent
Rob Hahn 2,111 – 14 percent
John Uldrich 1,279 – 9 percent
Phil Ratte 936 – 6 percent
Rahn Workcuff 605 – 4 percent

About Tim Engstrom

Tim Engstrom is the editor of the Albert Lea Tribune. He resides in Albert Lea with his wife, two sons and dog.

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