Ecklund wins special DFL primary to replace Dill

Rob Ecklund
Koochiching County Commissioner Rob Ecklund is a former union president at Boise Paper in International Falls.
Dan Kraker | MPR News

Koochiching County Commissioner Rob Ecklund has won a special DFL primary election in the race to replace former State Rep. David Dill, who died of cancer last month.

Ecklund won nearly 44 percent of the vote in the four-way House District 3A primary in northeast Minnesota. He will move on to the general election in December.

The massive district spans nearly two-thirds of the state's border with Canada, from Grand Portage to west of International Falls.

The key issue in the election was copper nickel mining. Second-place finisher Bill Hansen, of Tofte, lost by about six percentage points. He was the only candidate critical of PolyMet and other proposed precious metals mines in northeast Minnesota.

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Ecklund benefited from several union endorsements in the heavily DFL district. In a statement, Hansen said Ecklund had his "full support and endorsement."

Ely City Council member Heidi Omerza and International Falls businessman Eric Johnson each received nearly ten percent of the primary vote.

Ecklund will face Republican former Ely Mayor Roger Skraba and independent Kelsey Johnson in the December general election.

Skraba said in a statement he looks forward to contrasting his views with "Ecklund's vision of bigger government, higher taxes and support of the Minneapolis-based leaders in the DFL."