BRAINERD, Minn. — Republicans in north-central Minnesota will vote Tuesday to determine a nominee for a vacant state Senate seat in a race that will also showcase how allegiance to President Donald Trump is playing in areas he dominated in 2024.
Eight Republicans are vying to replace Justin Eichorn, who resigned last month after he was charged with attempting to solicit a minor in what turned out to be a sting operation in Bloomington.
The pool of candidates includes some familiar names in state politics, including several who made an abrupt decision to shift from other careers to pursue an unexpected political opportunity.
District 6, which stretches from Brainerd and Baxter north to Grand Rapids, is largely Republican. Eichorn won in 2022 with nearly 64% of the vote. So there’s a good chance the candidate who wins the Republican primary will go on to claim the Senate seat.
Trump handily carried the district in his 2024 presidential run.
But Crow Wing County GOP Chair Lowell Smith isn’t taking anything for granted. Historically — and this year in particular — Republicans across the country haven’t done as well as Democrats in turning out core voters in special elections.
“We’re going to do everything we can to turn out the vote,” Smith said.
But Democrats think they’ve got an outside shot. They’ve endorsed Denise Slipy, an environmental health and safety professional from Breezy Point. Other Democrats have bowed out.
Slipy will face the Republican primary winner in the April 29 special election. The outcome won’t flip the balance of power in the Senate, where Democrats currently have a two-vote majority.
“It’s a tough district, but we’re going to do everything we can. Folks are going to sign up to phonebank and door knock up there,” Minnesota DFL Party Chair Richard Carlbom told MPR News this month. “And on April 29, we’re going to see just how much ground we can gain and hopefully gain enough to win that seat.”
The Republican contenders are largely in harmony on conservative positions, such as lowering taxes, cutting spending and barring transgender athletes from girls’ sports.
Several said they back Trump’s recent actions, including massive layoffs and cuts to federal agencies.
Jennifer Carnahan owns two shops in downtown Nisswa. Since January, she’s also served as mayor of the tourist destination north of Brainerd with about 2,000 residents, whose population swells in the summer.
Carnahan said she worked hard to win the mayoral seat and wasn’t eager to leave her new role. But when Eichorn abruptly resigned, she decided to throw her hat in the ring.
“I just didn’t view there was any loss to jump in,” she said. “I’d go out there and work hard, share my conservative values, how I could still be an asset and help Nisswa, but a broader community if I am elected. And if not, I still have my mayoral term for two years, and we can still do great things.”
Carnahan is a familiar name to political observers. She’s the widow of U.S. Rep. Jim Hagedorn, who died of cancer in 2022. She’s also the former state Republican Party chair, whose tenure was marked by controversies before she resigned in 2021.
Also running is Josh Gazelka, whose father is former GOP Senate Majority Leader Paul Gazelka.
Josh Gazelka is 31 years old and lives in Pequot Lakes. He works for a Texas-based marketing firm and said he had no plans to get into politics.
“If you told me three weeks ago I’d be running, I think I would have laughed you out of the room,” he said in an interview earlier this month. “Because I’ve seen firsthand growing up what it looks like. It really is service paired with a lot of flak, no matter what you do.”
But Gazelka said when the seat came open, he felt a calling to serve, citing the impact of state taxes on the local economy as a key issue.
“I love the different businesses in the area. I love the idea of having my family here,” he said. “But I just know how difficult it is to just survive, and it’s driving people out of the state.”
Keri Heintzeman said she had been thinking for a while about running for office. She has campaigned for Trump and for her husband, Josh Heintzeman, who represents the area in the state House.
“I’ve knocked thousands and thousands of doors, and been able to hear what are the concerns of people and how that relates to government,” she said.
Heintzeman said Senate Minority Leader Mark Johnson first called to see if her husband was thinking about running for the Senate. But his departure would leave an open seat in the House, where membership is evenly split between parties.
“I said, ‘Do you have another candidate in mind from our area?’ And he said, ‘How about Keri Heintzeman?’ ” she recalled. “My heart leaped. I knew that that was something I’d been thinking about for many years.”
Heintzeman said her history with political campaigns helped her hit the ground running despite the shortened timeline, quickly launching lawn signs and campaign mailers. But she said she’s “not running as anybody’s wife.”
“I’m standing on my own two feet and my own experience,” she said.
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Other Republicans in the race include former Breezy Point Mayor Angel Zierden; retired Grand Rapids veterinarian John Howe; Steve Cotariu, an Army veteran and professional magician; conservative activist Doug Kern; and Matthew Zinda, who describes himself on Facebook as a self-employed driver, umpire and journalist.
Polling places will be open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. Tuesday, April 15. To find your polling place, go to pollfinder.sos.mn.gov.
