1. Former Clay County GOP chairman loses state Senate primary, faces legal action from Minnesota GOP
The ousted chairman of the Clay County Republicans is facing legal action from the Minnesota GOP and has lost his bid to be the Republican nominee in a crucial state Senate race in November.
Edwin Hahn was handily defeated by Republican-endorsed candidate Dan Bohmer for state Senate in District 4 in Minnesota’s Tuesday, August 9 primary election.
With all precincts reporting, Bohmer received 72.5 percent of the vote to Hahn’s 27.5 percent, in unofficial results from the Minnesota Secretary of State’s website.
Bohmer’s victory sets up a November contest between him and DFL candidate Rob Kupec, who filed unopposed Tuesday, for the District 4 seat being vacated by retiring Democratic Sen. Kent Eken.
On Monday, the Minnesota Republican Party announced in a press release that it was taking legal action against Hahn for continuing to represent himself as a local party official and refusing to return party property.
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2. North Dakota Transportation Director Resignation
Bill Panos, director of the North Dakota Department of Transportation.
Photo courtesy of the North Dakota Governor’s Office
Bill Panos, the director of the North Dakota Department of Transportation, will step down on September 9 after three years in the position. He cited family obligations in his home state of California as the reason for his resignation.
The agency’s deputy director of engineering, Ron Henke, will serve as interim director.
Gov. Doug Burgum announced Panos’ resignation on Wednesday, August 10. The Republican governor appointed Panos, the former director of the Wyoming Department of Transportation, to lead the North Dakota transportation agency in August 2019.
“Under Bill’s excellent leadership, the Department of Transportation has made significant progress in many areas, including traffic safety, strategic planning and improved access for constituents, especially online services,” Burgum said in a press release.
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3. Voters are ready to send the first openly trans person to the Minnesota Legislature
Leigh Finke poses for a photo during her election night party Tuesday, Aug. 9, 2022, at Bang Brewing in St. Paul. Having won her state House primary in District 66A, if elected in November, Finke will be the first trans woman in the Minnesota Legislature.
Ben Hovland / MPR News
From MPR News through the Forum News Service
A landmark victory Tuesday night could send the first transgender person to the Minnesota Legislature.
Video production company owner Leigh Finke won her DFL primary for an open seat in the St. Paul. She will be the favorite for the November elections.
Finke won more than 60 percent of the primary vote for District 66A, which includes parts of St. Paul, Roseville, Falcon Heights and Lauderdale, defeating Dave Thomas in a district that reliably votes for DFL candidates.
“The idea of being able to vote for yourself as the first trans person you’ve ever seen on the ballot is, I mean, it’s special,” Finke told MPR News. “We’re around and we deserve representation, and we have a lot of work to do to let people know what it means to have an inclusive government, to have an inclusive state, and to protect everyone.”
Finke said that if elected in November, she will work to repeal legislation that would marginalize gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender or queer people. He said being at the legislative table is critical as restrictive bills emerge.
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4. Early count shows strong, but not record turnout in Minnesota primary
Michael Vosburg / The Forum
Final counts for Minnesota’s Tuesday, Aug. 9 primary election have not yet been certified, but Secretary of State Steve Simon said voter turnout appeared to be “relatively strong” compared to other years.
More than 18 percent of eligible voters cast ballots in the 2022 primary, according to preliminary counts from the Secretary of State’s Office. Preliminary results show
more than 700,000 people voted for the republican governor and farm labor democrat
candidates Those numbers could change as local election officials across the state certify their results, and the final official turnout likely won’t be available until after November, when updated numbers of eligible voters are available.
Primary elections, where each party’s voters choose their final candidates, tend to have significantly lower turnout than November’s general election. Minnesota has had the highest voter turnout in its last three general elections, reaching nearly 80% in 2020. As of August 3, there were 3,561,194 registered voters in Minnesota.
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5. Red River Women’s Clinic opens at new Moorhead location
Members of 40 Days for Life, described as a grassroots movement to end abortion, pray outside a building at 302 Highway 75 North in Moorhead, the new location of the Red River Women’s Clinic, on Thursday, August 4, 2022.
David Samson / The Forum
North Dakota’s only abortion clinic has reopened in a new location in neighboring Moorhead, Minnesota.
The Red River Women’s Clinic opened in an office building at 302 Hwy 75 N. on Wednesday, August 10.
There is no outside sign advertising the clinic at this time, but a doorbell at the building’s secure entrance was labeled as such.
The clinic’s move to Moorhead spells the end of abortion care in North Dakota unless the state’s abortion ban is overturned.
Protesters and clinic attendants were outside the clinic location in downtown Fargo Wednesday morning. It is unclear if appointments were offered at both locations.
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