2020 Convention Results

Dear DFLers of SD66,

It’s only May, and 2020 has already been a year for the books. We had two contested endorsement races in our district, and after months of campaigning, caucuses, and an endorsing convention the likes of which we have never seen, we finally have our results.

I can’t thank the campaigns and our volunteers enough. Hours and hours of volunteer time was put into this new convention system, and we had the highest turnout of any Senate District 66 Endorsing Convention in memory. Cari Ness, Alice Hausman, Athena Hollins, and John Lesch have worked incredibly hard to motivate people to turn out for this process. Their campaigns worked overtime to help turn out new voters, remind delegates to sign up, and get those balloters to vote.

As we wrap up the endorsement process for our district, it is important to remember that each of these candidates had strong support, and that each of them helps bring more people to the DFL tent. It can be hard to not think of these campaigns as competitors in a race, but I like to believe that each campaign is running for something, not against the other.

So, whether your candidate gained the endorsement or fell short, they are still valued leaders within our community. The people, positions, and policies they represent and bring to our big tent are important. Healing may take time, but please be humble, be kind, and be supportive. We do better when we work together.

The endorsed candidates are:

  • House District 66A: Alice Hausman
  • House District 66B: John Lesch
  • Senate District 66: John Marty

We are proud to deliver our endorsement to these candidates and look forward to coming together to help elect them and Democratic candidates throughout the state this fall.

The delegates who are moving on to the State/CD election are:

Alice Lesch
Ardis Quick
Augusto Avenido
Beth (Elizabeth) MercerTaylor
Cantare Davunt
Cari Ness Nesje
Christian Berger
Dave Borton
David Hollins
David Mercer-Taylor
Debra Avenido
Dennis Skovsted
Diane Borton
Elaine Tarone
Elizabeth Hansel
Grant Abbott
Gwen Willems
James Dryden
James Mogen
Jason Etten
Joel Carlson
Joseph Bester
Joseph Zwack
Judy Berglund
Keith Hardy
Kong Xiong
Lauren Peterson
Lija Greenseid
Linda Lange
Linda Zelig
Lisa Chou
M.(Mary) Kathleen Murphy
Mai Vue
Mark Miazga
Matt Privratsky
Melissa Lesch
Mercedes Tuma-Hansen
MongZong Xiong
Nancy Haas
Rachel Avenido
Robert Kessler
Roy Magnuson
Sarah Lukowski
Shaafi Shilaabo
Theresa St Aoro
Wayne Groff

* Mercedes Tuma-Hansen was tied with another candidate and was drawn by lot.

We appreciate these individuals who will be representing us in subsequent virtual conventions.

The resolutions that are being passed on to the next level are listed here as a downloadable PDF. We were eligible to forward up to 46, but only 16 reached the 60% threshold required to be passed on.

On behalf of the district, we would like to thank the incredible volunteers who stepped up and, quite frankly, made this remote convention possible. Kat Sherman, Hallie Finucane, and the rest of the credentials committee took the process online and combed through spreadsheet after spreadsheet, on top of having to play detective and reconcile the digital sheets with the hard copies from the caucuses. Sarah Lukowski and the endorsements committee compiled the candidate screening questionnaires for our delegates to review. Priscilla Wyeth, Savanna Borne, Alicia Lane-Outlaw, and the rest of the resolutions committee took dozens if not hundreds of hand-written resolutions, compiled them, and then formatted them for our ballot. Darlene Guy, Patt Kelly Hall, Liz Danielson, Lauren Petersen, and Linda Zelig called dozens of delegates and alternates to ensure we reached out to everyone we had contact information for. They have done a huge service to the senate district, and we appreciate their time.

And thank you to everyone who participated in this convention.

Sincerely,

Ryan Lee and Katrina Lee
Chair and Vice Chair, SD66

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