2024 Primary Election: Houge out of the race for Crow Wing County Commissioner, District 5 - Brainerd Dispatch

BRAINERD – Following the primary election on Tuesday, August 13, there will be a mix of new faces and returning incumbents vying for regional elected office.

Residents of Crow Wing County’s 5th District will have a new commissioner on the county council, as incumbent Doug Houge was defeated in the primary and his two challengers will face off in November.

The race between the three candidates was close. After all votes were counted, Johnna Johnson and Jamie Lee were separated by 10 votes. Houge was 45 votes behind Johnson. Houge has been the incumbent county commissioner since 2007.

Johnson was able to achieve triple-digit voter gains in the city of Crosby and Deerwood Township, making him the only candidate to do so well in any of the district’s precincts. Tuesday’s votes came from 21 precincts in the 5th District.

The two candidates with the most votes advance to the general election on November 5. District 5 represents the central and northeastern parts of the county, including the Cuyuna Range and the cities of Crosby, Ironton, Deerwood, Emily and Fifty Lakes, Riverton and surrounding communities.

Number of votes:

Doug Houge: 619 votes – 31.63%

Johnna Johnson: 664 votes – 33.93%

Jamie Lee: 674 votes — 34.44%

Cass County Commissioner District 3

In Cass County, Karen Goodenough and Rusty Lilyquist received the most votes in Tuesday’s primary and will face each other in the Nov. 5 general election for Cass County’s Third District seat.

However the general election turns out, Cass County’s Third District – which covers part of the central part of the county – will have new representation after current Commissioner Jeff Peterson decided not to seek re-election. Although Lilyquist already served two terms as Cass County Commissioner for the Third District in the early 2000s.

Number of votes:

Karen Goodenough: 562 votes – 45.92%

Rusty Lilyquist: 455 votes – 37.17%

Jim Qualley: 207 votes — 16.91%

Representative of the State of Minnesota, District 6B

Incumbent Josh Heintzeman defeated his challenger Matthew Zinda in Tuesday’s primary and will run as the Republican candidate in the November 5 general election.

Heintzeman won all four of Baxter’s precincts overwhelmingly, winning 78 votes in Precinct 1 West for Zinda to five, 98 to 3 in Precinct 2 East for Baxter, 76 to 7 in Precinct 2 West for Baxter and 162 to 19 in Precinct 1 East for Baxter.

In Brainerd’s precincts, Heintzeman easily defeated Zinda, who received only single-digit votes in all eight precincts.

Zinda’s strongest showing came in the town of Breezy Point, where he received 24 votes to 136 for Heintzeman.

District 6B covers most of western Crow Wing County, including the cities of Brainerd, Baxter, Pequot Lakes, Nisswa, Merrifield, Jenkins and Breezy Point. Heintzeman, of Nisswa, was first elected in 2014. He will face a sixth term in the Minnesota House of Representatives in the November general election against DFL candidate Emily LeClaire, who received 1,062 votes in the unopposed primary, and Americans First candidate Troy Kenneth Scheffler.

Number of votes:

Josh Heintzeman: 2,032 – 91.04%

Matthew Eric Zinda: 200 – 8.96%

Representative of the State of Minnesota, District 10A

In a close race in the Republican primary for House 10A, incumbent Ron Kresha (R-Little Falls) advanced to the general election as the Republican nominee after defeating Diane Webb-Skillings.

Kresha was first elected to the House 10A seat in 2022 following redistricting. He previously served as state representative for Minnesota House of Representatives District 9B from 2013 to 2023.

Minnesota House District 10A includes parts of northern Morrison County, northern Mille Lacs County, southern Crow Wing County, southern Aitkin County, and the northwest corner of Kanabec County.

Kresha will run against DFL candidate Julia Samsal Hipp in the parliamentary elections on November 5.

Number of votes:

Ron Kresha: 2,275 votes – 50.57%

Diane Webb-Skillings: 2,224 votes – 49.43%

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