Bloomington's mayor has picked a side. In a letter published Oct. 22, Mayor Tim Busse endorsed DFLer Karla Hult for Senate District 50 and said he's "proud to join Edina Mayor Jim Hovland" in backing her. Busse said he met Hult shortly after she announced her run. "She came with questions, and she's kept asking them throughout her campaign," he wrote. He pointed to her work with Alight and People Serving People helping families facing homelessness and displacement, and said she "knows when to build bridges and when to fight for what's right."
A second letter ran the same day. Thuy Anh Fox, an Edina community advocate, said she started organizing mutual aid in January, when "our state and our neighbors came under direct federal targeting." Hult entered the race that same month. Fox listed protecting the Boundary Waters, managing the growth of data centers and putting "real guardrails" on artificial intelligence as reasons she's backing Hult. "Karla Hult shows up," Fox wrote.
Hult won the DFL primary in August, and the endorsements have been coming since. On Oct. 15, the senator who holds the seat now weighed in. Sen. Alice Mann, the Edina DFLer and physician who is leaving the seat, wrote, "Karla Hult has all of those qualities and more, and I am proud to endorse her." Mann cited Hult's Alzheimer's advocacy, which grew out of caring for her father, and her years as a journalist. "Good reporters ask hard questions, listen to understand and discern what is true," Mann wrote.
Bloomington resident Roderick Wooten backed Hult earlier for her work on housing. "She has advocated for families facing displacement, and she knows what it means when a household loses its footing," he wrote.
District 50 covers Bloomington precincts west of Penn Avenue, plus part of Edina. East of Penn, Senate District 51 is open too, because Sen. Melissa Halvorson Wiklund isn't running again. That race pits Republican Juline Birgersson against DFLer Simon Trautmann Cordova, so every Bloomington voter will help pick a new senator. Early voting is underway, and Election Day is Nov. 3.
Hult is a longtime journalist who founded So Many Goodbyes, an Alzheimer's education group. Michaelson has lived in Edina for 27 years, served 4 years on the Edina School Board and has run GopherData, his database consultancy, for 18 years. In voter-guide answers, Hult called fraud "absolutely unacceptable." She backs an Independent Office of Inspector General, more investigators and tougher penalties. Michaelson said DFL leaders "downplayed fraud for years" and argued, "We need trustworthy actors to act." On affordability, Hult pointed to "nearly $1 billion in permanent relief for Minnesota homeowners" since 2023. Michaelson skipped that question.
The sharpest exchange so far came Sept. 29 at a League of Women Voters of Edina forum at Edina Community Lutheran Church. House District 50A Rep. Julie Greene, whose district includes 3 north Bloomington precincts, also took part. Her Republican challenger, Chris Wedum, didn't show, and no reason was given. Michaelson said fraud "cost each and every one of us almost $4,000 per household." Hult answered, "It is Democrats doing the hard work. It is Democrats owning it." Greene said "screaming about it doesn't actually change anything."
Guns and immigration split them just as cleanly. Hult wants "weapons of war off of the streets" and limits on magazine capacity. Michaelson said "the Second Amendment serves a point." Hult backed the North STAR Act, which would bar state resources from being used for immigration enforcement. Michaelson said, "One of the first things I'd do is I would outlaw sanctuary laws."
