Politics & Government

2012 Election Brings Little Change to Hennepin County Board

All incumbents in county commissioner races defended challenges from opponents touting their fiscally conservative credentials.

Welcome to Patch's Hennepin County hub for all things Election 2012.

This page will offer some historical perspective of recent voting in Hennepin County, along with up-to-the-moment election results for county races. It will also have links to Patch's coverage of local, state and federal races. 

  • Local coverage: Eden Prairie | Edina | Golden Valley | Hopkins | Lake Minnetonka | Maple Grove | Minnetonka | Plymouth | Richfield | Southwest Minneapolis | St. Louis Park |
  • Scroll down to see Hennepin County election results.

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Find out what's happening in Hopkinswith free, real-time updates from Patch.

With five of the seven county commissioners up for re-election this fall, the Hennepin County Board could’ve seen a major shake-up from this election.

But Hennepin County voters seem to prefer for county government to continue on its current course—choosing steady-as-she-goes incumbents over the fiscally conservative challengers who criticized the County Board for runaway spending.

Find out what's happening in Hopkinswith free, real-time updates from Patch.

  • Scroll down to see election results.

Incumbents Mike Opat, Randy Johnson, Jan Callison and Jeff Johnson all won their respective races—in Randy Johnson’s case by a 64 percent to 35 percent margin.

District 2 was the only one that did not choose an incumbent—and that was only because it was a special election that did not have an incumbent in that race. In that case, Higgins defeated Yang 60 percent to 40 percent.

In the 6th District, Wahlstedt had consistently promoted spending cuts and lower taxes while his supporters criticized Callison for the county’s spending. But in the end, voters favored Callison’s emphasis on smart investments and a balanced approach.

The 5th District had a less clear-cut message. Randy Johnson—who was elected in 1978 and re-elected nine successive times, running without opposition in four elections—had the endorsement of many Republicans and major labor unions. But Koepke, who has never held an elected office, considered himself a fiscal conservative and, like Wahlstedt, is running on the position that the county has strayed from the core values of limited, local government.

In addition to the County Board seats, voters also chose park commissioners and soil and water supervisors. Scrolls down to see the full results.

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RESULTS 

*Candidates with asterisks before their names are incumbents.

Hennepin County Commissioners

District 1 (No Patch sites)
Name Total Votes Percentage Percent counted

Chris Rains

28,148 44.15 100 *Mike Opat 35,083 55.03 100

Special Election for District 2 (Golden Valley, Plymouth)

Name Total Votes Percentage  Percent counted
Linda Higgins 41,935 59.39 100

Blong Yang

28,115 39.82 100 District 5 (Richfield, Eden Prairie) Name Total Votes Percentage  Percent counted
*Randy Johnson 41,436 63.89 100 Jim Koepke 22,891 35.30 100 District 6 (Edina, Lake Minnetonka, Minnetonka) Name Total Votes Percentage Percent counted *Jan Callison 40,904 57.86 100 Dave Wahlstedt 29,420 41.62 100 District 7 (Maple Grove, Plymouth) Name Total Votes Percentage Percent counted *Jeff Johnson 62,864 98.75 100

Hennepin County Park Commissioners

District 1 (Lake Minnetonka, Plymouth)
Name Total Votes Percentage Percent counted Penny Steele 32,470 52.12 100
*Sara Wyatt 29,405 47.20 100
District 2 (Maple Grove)
Name Total Vote Percentage Percent counted Rick Theisen 28,550 46.94 100
Jennifer DeJournett 31,851 52.36 100
District 3 (Golden Valley, St. Louis Park)
Name Total Votes Percentage Percent counted Daniel Freeman
36,760 68.56 100
Matthew Laue
16,217 30.25 100
District 4 (Edina, Hopkins, Lake Minnetonka, Minnetonka, Richfield)
Name Total Votes Percentage Percent counted John Gunyou
31,507 53.55 100
Leigh Harrod
26,883 45.69 100
District 5 (Eden Prairie)
Name Total Votes Percentage Percent counted *John F. Gibbs
52,827 98.47 100

Hennepin County Soil and Water Supervisors

District 1 (No Patch sites)
Name Total Votes Percentage Percent counted *Jeremy Haefs 163,563 43.40 99.26
Eleonore Wesserle 208,482 55.32 99.26 District 3 (Maple Grove, Plymouth)
Name Total Votes Percentage Percent counted Marjorie Holsten 193,601 51.34 99.26 Brian T. Peterson 179,506 47.60 99.26 District 4 (Eden Prairie, Edina, Richfield)
Name Total Votes Percentage Percent counted Andrew K. Moller 172,864 48.46 99.26 *Richard B. Strong 179,618 50.36 99.26 District 5 (Golden Valley, Hopkins, Lake Minnetonka, Minnetonka, St. Louis Park)
Name Total Votes Percentage Percent counted Danny Nadeau 318,872 98.07 99.26

To find results for the Presidential election, senate race, congressional election and constitutional amendment questions, you can find all the up-to-the-minute results here on Patch by clicking here.

If you're looking for results of local races in Hennepin County communities—such as school board, city council and mayoral elections—you can visit the relevant Patch site:

  • Eden Prairie | Edina | Golden Valley | Hopkins | Lake Minnetonka | Maple Grove | Minnetonka | Plymouth | Richfield | Southwest Minneapolis | St. Louis Park |

To see legislative races, visit the Patch site for the appropriate legislative district:

  • District 33
  • District 44
  • District 46
  • District 48
  • District 50
  • District 61
  • District 62
  • District 63

To see the judicial results, click on the links below:

  • Minnesota Supreme Court
  • Fourth District Court


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