Three candidates were endorsed in Duluth during an endorsing convention May 21 representing Koochiching County, Lake County, Cook County and part of St. Louis County.

Jennifer Havlick is the GOP endorsed candidate for Minnesota Senate District 3, Jim Tuomala is the GOP endorsed candidate for Minnesota House District 3A, and Keith McDonald is the GOP endorsed candidate for Minnesota House District 3B.

Havlick is expected to run against DFL Senate Majority Leader Tom Bakk in the new Senate district that runs from the Canadian border, around Duluth, and to south of Interstate 35 near Carlton. Havlick and her husband, Scott, live in Two Harbors.

Havlick has said she is aware of the national problems being played out in Washington, D.C., and the mirror image of those problems going on at the state Capitol. Havlick said she remains optimistic about the state’s future. “Minnesota has the great potential to be a leader in education, business and health care,” she said. “We have smart, dedicated people who want only to live a good life and raise a family.”

Tuomala is expected to run against DFL Rep. Dave Dill to represent the newly created House District 3A. The new district is by far the largest in the state and includes all of Koochiching County, Lake County, Cook County and a northern and an eastern strip of St. Louis County. International Falls is the largest city in the new district. The Falls is nearly twice as large as the next largest cities in the district, Ely and Two Harbors.

Tuomala is a lifelong resident of the district and lives in Babbitt. He has been a miner for many years and said he understands the importance of timber, technology, tourism and environmentally secure nonferrous mining to the area. He said he seeks a “better balance among government, business and the environmental sectors.”

McDonald is expected to run against DFL Rep. Mary Murphy who also resides in the new House District 3B. McDonald, 51, is a lifetime resident of the Duluth area and a former mayor of Hermantown. He graduated from the University of Minnesota-Duluth with a degree in business administration. He is an independent businessman and has been an insurance agent for 23 years.

McDonald notes that the 8th Congressional District is now represented by 15 Republicans: nine in the Minnesota House, five in the Minnesota Senate and one in Congress. He said he sees this change as a fundamental demand for better government by the people of the Arrowhead Region and he said he looks forward to a robust campaign.