The voters have spoken. Through the course of early voting and finally election day, Carver County residents cast their ballots for president, congressional members, state legislators, county board candidates, school board members, city officials, judges and more.
Now that the results are in, the real work starts, as a fresh slate of local officials soon begin to serve their fellow citizens and deliver on campaign promises.
In the District 1 Carver County Board race, early results indicate Lisa Anderson (6,103) topped Greg Boe (4,448).
In District 3, Matt Udermann was the winner over John Peter Mihajlov, 6,992 to 5,554.
In the Carver City Council race, Kristy Mock (2,103) and Kayla Pascoe (1,410) were the top vote getters and were elected. Reid Welch (947) and John Kobett (616) failed in their bids.
In the race for Chanhassen City Council, Josh Kimber (6,661) and Haley Pemrick Schubert (6,180) won the two open seats. Nora Nashawaty (4,876) and Andrew E. Soudbash (2,535) came up short.
The Chanhassen referendum question, allowing for a sales and use tax hike of 0.5% for up to 20 years to fund the Chanhassen Bluffs Community Center, was approved on a 9,028-7,289 vote.
The race for Chaska mayor went to Taylor Hubbard (8,766) over George Glaros, Jr. (4,891). Joshua Benesh (Ward 2) and Leah Sheveland (Ward 4) both ran unopposed for Chaska City Council and claimed those seats. Benesh received 2,555 votes while Sheveland had 2,073.
Debra McMillan, who ran unopposed, was elected mayor of Victoria with 5,295 votes. In the close race for Victoria City Council, the top two vote getters were Christian Pederson (2,971) and Chad Roberts (2,810). Cam Wright pulled in 2,690 votes for a third-place finish.
In the District #112 School Board race, the top three were Angela Erickson (17,627), Rachel Berg Scherer (16,594) and Sean Olsen (14,854). Robin Bielefeldt (8,843) and Sam Aldoubal (7,817) came up short.
In the Minnesota State House races, Bobbie Harder (17,425) easily outdistanced Jennifer Nuesse (7,431) in District 17B. In District 48A, Jim Nash topped Nathan Kells 16,818-11,001. In an extremely tight 48B contest, early returns have Lucille Rehm defeating Caleb Steffenhagen 12,953-12,728.
From his vantage point as an election judge in Chaska, Neil Wingert said he witnessed nothing but respect and calm from voters. He was stationed at the Moravian Church for much of the day.
“I was impressed with the mood and friendliness of the voters,” he reported. “I didn’t see or hear of rancor during my eight-hour shift.”
