5th District 1 Of Many Key Minnesota Primary Races
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- Wisconsin and Minnesota voters are making important choices Tuesday, setting the stage for November's general election.
With turnout totals well above the last three primary elections. Not to mention early voting was up far ahead of the presidential election in 2016.
The Congressional primary race in the Fifth District is particularly interesting because the district is overwhelmingly Democratic. With five Democrats in the running for Minnesota's 5th Congressional District primary, the winner is likely a shoe-in for the November election.
Amanda Jacobson was one of the more than 400 people that came through the polls at Lyndale Elementary in Minneapolis before noon Tuesday. She said residents want to see someone in the seat who will get out and get to know the community.
"I think people want to see money going into more important projects for schools. I think people want to see a diversified amount of leadership," Jacobson said.
Representative Ilhan Omar and former House speaker Margaret Anderson Kelliher are two front-runners in the race. Whoever wins the election will succeed Representative Keith Ellison, who is instead going after the state Attorney General nomination.
"This is a pretty vibrant community with a lot of interesting neighbors and different people. I think people want to see themselves represented in government more than they have in the past," Jacobson said.
Final voter numbers won't be tallied until day's end, but judges told us they felt it was busier than previous years.
"There's some really tight races and people are feeling very passionate, invested and the overall picture of what's going on in our country to make sure their voices are heard," Jennifer Rossum of Minneapolis said.
Aside from Minneapolis, the district also covers St. Louis Park, Edina, Richfield, Crystal, Robbinsdale, Golden Valley and Fridley.