Caledonia Argus

Corcoran, Beckman to face off in November; primary turnout low

Posted: 9/17/02

The countyís only primary race resulted in a contest between incumbent District 4 Commissioner David Corcoran and former county employee Bill Beckman. Corcoran received 247 votes and Beckman 112. Melvin Davy, Jr. came up with only 36 votes.

The only other contested county race is between Sheriff Mike Lee and challenger Sgt. Randy Shefelbine.

Other offices on the ballot will be county auditor, county recorder, county treasurer and county attorney. Incumbents in those offices face no challengers.

Low voter turnout for primary election

Only about 13 percent of eligible voters showed up to vote on primary day, September 10.

The Houston County Auditorís Office reports that 1,526 people voted. There are about 11,545 registered voters in the county.

There were nine voters who expressed a preference for the Green Party, 170 for the Independence Party, 664 for the Republican Party, and 404 for the DFL.

On the Republican side of the ticket, the Tim Pawlenty/Carol Molnau gubernatorial ticket drew 490 votes for 80 percent, while Leslie Davis/Pete Wagner had 119. Republican senate candidate Norm Coleman received 597 votes to 43 for Jack Shepard.

In the Republican race for state auditor candidacy, Pat Awada took Houston County with 368 votes and her Republican challenger, Jual Carlos Carlson, had 192.

Houston County Republicans chose Tom Kelly over Sharon Anderson for attorney general 345 votes to 227. Kelly got the nod statewide.

The Independent ticket of Tim Penny and Martha Robertson won the overwhelming approval of the Independent voters in the county, garnering 165 votes to 3 for the Bill Dahn/Rome Hanson ticket. His percentage in Houston County, 98 percent, compares to a state percentage of 96 percent.

There were three Independent candidates for US Senate, and a tie in the county left William McGaughey and Jim Moore with 47 votes each and Ronald Wills with 14.

Only one vote separated Independent candidates for Attorney General. Dale Nathan received 58 votes to 57 for Dick Bullock. Independent candidates for auditor

In the Democratic races, Incumbent Paul Wellstone drew 353 votes. Dick Franson and Alve Erickson had 27 and 15 votes respectively.

Democrats Roger Moe and Julie Sabo were favored over Ole Savior and Doug Lalone for the governorís race, 318 to 49.

In the Democratic race for state auditor, State Treasurer Carol Johnson received 202 votes and Gregory Gray, who was endorsed by his party, 93. Gregg Iverson was third with 66. Statewide, Johnson received 53 percent of the vote. In Houston County, he received 56 percent.

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