Koochiching County voters will help narrow the field of candidates in several races in Tuesday’s primary election.
The primary election is an opportunity to help select the people who will make decisions that will be felt in nearly every facet of our lives.
Locally, voters will narrow the field of the Commissioner District 5 candidates.
The primary will feature races in the U.S. District 8 House and U.S. Senate contests.
And candidates for the Minnesota Supreme Court chief justice and associate justice position in the Supreme Court 4 will also be featured in Tuesday’s primary.
The state switched its primary from September to August in 2010. The summer heat and the new date didn’t deter Minnesotans from going to the polls. Almost 15 percent turned out in the 2010 primary, in line with turnout numbers from primary contests in 2002 and 2006.
And a measure at the Legislature this year indicates there may be support to conducting Minnesota’s primary in June in 2014. Supporters of the move say it gives general election rivals more time to make their cases to the entire populous, rather than concentrating on just the few partisans who vote in primary elections. Opponents of the proposal say an early primary benefits incumbents over challengers, makes parties less important and elections more expensive.
The primary election is part of a tried and true process that brings us to the next step, the November election. Don’t miss the opportunity to be part of that process Tuesday.
