by Dennis Dalman
news@thenewsleaders.com
Voters in the City of St. Joseph gave a drubbing to the Republicans in the Nov. 6 elections, with one exception, but only three of their five top choices were elected to office. City voters also rejected the two proposed constituional amendments, as did voters statewide.
The Democrats had a near clean sweep in St. Joseph. Their choices of incumbents President Obama and U.S. Democratic Sen. Amy Klobuchar were also chosen statewide and both were handily re-elected, as was State Sen. Michelle Fischbach. The latter, a Republican, was the only exception to the Democratic dominance among voters in the city.
However, the voters in St. Joseph’s two precincts also voted for Democrats Jim Graves, Peggy Boeck and Richard Bohannon. None was elected. The winners, all Republicans, were U.S. Rep. Michele Bachmann, State Sen. Michelle Fischbach and District 13 Minnesota Rep. Jeff Howe, who will now be sworn into the position once held by St. Joseph resident and former mayor Larry Hosch.
It’s likely voting college students contributed to the strong choices for Democrats in the election as the City of St. Joseph has always been known as a quite conservative, Republican-leaning city.
When results are broken down by the city’s two precincts, however, the majority of Precinct 2 voters voted more Republican than those in Precinct 1. In Precinct 2, presidential candidate Mitt Romney received more votes, as did Howe and Fischbach.
Both precincts overwhelmingly favored U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar, who won the statewide election.
The following are vote totals for the City of St. Joseph, which were obtained from the Minnesota Secretary of State’s Office:
Presidential race: Precinct 1: Obama-Biden 936, Romney-Ryan 604; Precinct 2: Romney-Ryan 1,036, Obama-Biden 994; Totals: Obama-Biden 1,930, Romney-Ryan 1,640.
U.S. Senator: Precinct 1: Amy Klobuchar 967, Kurt Bills 398; Precinct 2: Klobuchar 1,291, Bills 585; Totals: Klobuchar 2,258, Bills 983.
U.S. Representative: Precinct 1: Jim Graves 1,050, Michele Bachmann 445; Precinct 2: Graves 1,232, Bachmann 801; Totals: Graves 2,282, Bachmann 1,246.
State Senator 13: Precinct 1: Peggy Boeck 687, Michelle Fischbach 568; Precinct 2: Fischbach 1,088, Boeck 853; Totals: Fishbach 1,656; Boeck 1,550.
State Rep. 13 A: Precinct 1: Richard Bohannon 785, Jeff Howe 500; Precinct 2: Howe 970, Bohannon 951; Totals: Bohannon 1,763, Howe 1,470.
Constitutional amendments: Marriage Amendment: No: 2,320, Yes: 1,332; ID Amendment: No: 1,988, Yes: 1,618.
