No race was close. Democrats took all 6 state legislative seats covering Bloomington and Richfield in the Nov. 3 general election. Both Senate seats change hands, but the party holding them doesn't: Karla Hult replaces Alice Mann in Senate District 50, and Simon Trautmann Cordova replaces Melissa Halvorson Wiklund in Senate District 51.
In Senate District 50, which covers western Bloomington and most of Edina, Hult received 33,764 votes, or 68.9%. Republican Owen Michaelson had 15,183, or 31%, with all 28 precincts reporting. Hult got to the general election by winning a 4-way DFL primary in August.
Senate District 51 covers all of Richfield and eastern Bloomington. Trautmann Cordova won it with 29,578 votes, more than 74%, to Republican Juline Birgersson's 10,217, or 25.5%, with all 25 precincts reporting.
On the House side, Julie Greene won reelection in District 50A, which takes in parts of Edina plus 2 Bloomington precincts along the Edina border. She received 17,020 votes, or 69.79%. Republican Chris Wedum, a talent acquisition consultant, had 7,353, or 30.15%, and 16 votes were write-ins. Greene is a former Edina School Board member with 30 years in marketing and business. At the Capitol she serves on the Transportation, Education Finance and Education Policy committees.
Steve Elkins had no opponent in District 50B, which covers most Bloomington precincts west of Penn Avenue, and finished with 17,828 votes. Elkins is 74, a retired IT architect, and before going to the Legislature he served on the Bloomington City Council, the city's planning commission and the Metropolitan Council.
East of Penn, District 51B Rep. Nathan Coulter, another former Bloomington City Council member, beat Republican Jim Lund 13,878 to 5,899. Lund, 53, works in financial services. Coulter is 40 and describes himself as a stay-at-home dad.
In District 51A, which covers all of Richfield and some south Minneapolis precincts, Rep. Michael Howard defeated Republican Frank Pafko 15,834 to 4,116. Howard has held the seat since 2019 and served on the Richfield City Council from 2014 to 2018. Pafko, 73, is a retired Minnesota Department of Transportation manager.
That gives Bloomington 3 House members who used to sit on its City Council or one of its commissions. Their former colleagues at Civic Plaza will now have 2 new senators to call as well.
