In Senate District 14, Michelle Fischbach (R-Paynesville) won re-election by a large margin over her challenger. Mike Sharp (DFL-Clearwater) received 23,129 votes to Fischbach's 12,585 votes.
"It was nice to see the margin in the vote count," said Senator Fischbach.
"My opponent and I ran a civil race. We both went out and worked. I ran on my record and it seemed to work," Fischbach said.
Fischbach said the meetings have already started for the 2001 legislative session which starts Jan. 3. "We will have an aggressive schedule this year as a lot needs to be accomplished in five months," Fischbach said.
Topics she expects to cover this session include car tabs, health care, agriculture, and education.
Rep. Doug Stang, R-Cold Spring, had one of the more hotly contested races in his campaign against challenger Steve McCorquodale (DFL-Paynesville).
In the final vote count, incumbent Stang won easily, 13,017 votes to 4,568 votes.
"I'm happy with the election results. I tried to focus on the things I accomplished in the Legislature," Rep. Doug Stang said.
Stang was relieved to see the margin in his re-election. "Winning gives a person a good feeling," he said. "Now I can move on and concentrate on the next session."
Stang said his goal for the next session is the continuation of what was started last yearÑa balanced budget, education funding, and tax surplus.
Despite his loss, McCorquodale feels that his campaign achieved his goal of pointing out the inconsistencies in Stang's voting record. "It's unfortunate they can't be explained in short sentences," he said. "In his first four years in office, he hasn't really done anything for the district."
McCorquodale said it was difficult to run against an incumbent.
"I found campaigning to be an educational experience. This was my first time running for any office," McCorquodale said.
One good thing about the campaign, McCorquodale said was he got to know a lot of people and the county.
Other elections
Dean Johnson (DFL-Willmar) won re-election in District 15. He had a little closer race than Fischbach, defeating Diane Vlach (R-Willmar) by a margin of 4,486 votes. Johnson won with 16,528 votes to his opponents 12,042 votes.
In District 20, Steve Dille (R-Dassel) won by a wide margin, 21,054 to 11,276 votes to defeat challenger Jeff Krueger (DFL-Silver Lake).
Rep. Al Juhnke (DFL-Spicer) representing District 15B, won his race by 2,253 votes over challenger Kevin Dittbenner (R-New London). The final vote count was 9,138 votes to 6,885 mvotes.
Republican incumbent Bob Ness in District 20A easily won his election 12,490 to 3,210 votes over challenger Phillip Jarman (DFL-Cokato).