Republican Keri Heintzeman wins special election for Minnesota Senate seat left open by Eichorn

Republican Keri Heintzeman easily won a special election for a north-central Minnesota Senate seat on Tuesday night, filling a vacancy that was created by former GOP Sen. Justin Eichorn’s resignation.

Heintzeman defeated Democrat Denise Slipy by nearly 21 percentage points in Minnesota Senate District 6, which covers portions of Crow Wing, Cass and Itasca counties. The Nisswa Republican will fill the seat left open by Eichorn, who resigned last month following his arrest in an underage prostitution sting.

Eichorn pleaded not guilty earlier this month to a federal charge of attempted enticement of a minor. He was arrested March 17 after exchanging texts with an undercover officer posing as a 17-year-old girl and arranging to meet for sex in Bloomington, according to court records.

Senate District 6 has trended toward Republicans in recent years. Heintzeman’s margin of victory was smaller than Eichorn had in 2022, when he defeated his DFL challenger by 27 percentage points.

The Republican Party of Minnesota and GOP House Speaker Lisa Demuth congratulated Heintzeman in social media posts on Tuesday night: “Congrats MN Senator-elect,” the state party wrote.

Heintzeman served as district director for President Donald Trump’s campaign last year. She owns a recreational rental business and is married to GOP state Rep. Josh Heintzeman, with whom she has six children.

Heintzeman defeated seven other Republican candidates, including former Minnesota GOP Chair Jennifer Carnahan and the son of former Senate leader Paul Gazelka, in an April 15 primary to advance to the special election.

Heintzeman will join the Minnesota Legislature at a critical time, as lawmakers race to pass a new state budget before the May 19 adjournment deadline. A victory by Heintzeman narrowed the DFL’s majority in the Senate back to one vote.

In an interview last month, Heintzeman said she would focus on “cutting spending and exposing and eliminating fraud” if elected. She said her values — supporting gun rights, opposing abortion, combating the “woke agenda” and exercising fiscal responsibility — match those of the district.

The Senate District 6 race was the third special election in Minnesota this year.

A late-January special election was held to fill a Minneapolis Senate seat after DFL Sen. Kari Dziedzic died from ovarian cancer. Another special election in March filled a Roseville-area House seat that had become vacant after a Democrat was ruled ineligible to serve because he failed to meet residency requirements.