House District 13A
- Bud Heidgerken (retiring) - R (Campaign Finance Bd.)
- Bruce Shuck - DFL (Campaign Finance Bd.)
- Paul Anderson - R (Campaign Finance Bd.) (Elected)
100% rural. Agriculture and tourism are core parts of the district's economic base. The district probably has more dairy farms and dairy operations than any other district in the state. The area also has a large Catholic population, although Pope County tends to be more Protestant. Freeport, Albany and New Munich are considered the backbone of Lake Wobegon, feature weekly on National Public Radio's Prairie Home Companion show. Additionally, one of the districts more important cities, Sauk Centre, is the birthplace of famed author Sinclair Lewis, and many tourists come to see "Main Street" and the historic Palmer House Hotel. The economic lifeblood of the district is agriculture. Jennie-O Turkey Store has a large turkey processing plant in Melrose, which nurtures a burgeoning turkey-growing industry in the countryside. Improving roads is a huge concern in this district as well as in District 13B. Politically, this prominently Catholic district puts social issues like abortion and gay marriage on the front burner, and as a result Republicans do well here.
To get a much better picture of each candidate's prospects, your best bet is to order the 2007-2008 Politics in Minnesota Directory, which includes election histories for each incumbent, the vote percentages for major candidates in each district and much more in addition to the maps and district descriptions below. Buy the Directory here. Please note that the district maps and written descriptions are copyrighted. We encourage you to link to the pages, but printing them for dissemination requires the permission of the publisher. To get permission, write to staff@politicsinminnesota.com.
Also, please note that some incumbents do not yet have opponents. Candidate filings close July 15, 2008.
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