by Dennis Dalman
news@thenewsleaders.com
Three Republican incumbents who represent the Sartell area – Michele Bachmann, Tim O’Driscoll and Michelle Fischbach – defeated DFL challengers Tuesday. Another incumbent, Democratic U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar was also re-elected.
Bachmann (R-Stillwater) squeaked by to a victory over Jim Graves (DFL-Minneapolis) on a slim vote margin of slighlly more than 4,000 votes. Her total was 180,131; Graves garnered 175,924. Bachmann will now serve her fourth two-year term in the U.S. House of Representatives, representing Minnesota’s 6th District.
O’Driscoll, Sartell’s former mayor; and Fischbach (R-Paynesville) handily defeated their challenger. O’Driscoll received 12,076 votes; Shannon Schroeder received 7,946. Fischbach garnered 26,015 votes; Peggy Boeck got 14,870 votes.
O’Driscoll represents District 13B in the Minnesota House of Representives; Fischbach represents District 13 in the Minnesota Senate.
Klobuchar easily beat back Republican challenger Kurt Bills by a vote of 1,850,820 to 867,748.