House District 21B
Candidates:
- Brad Finstad (retiring) - R (Campaign Finance Bd.)
- Paul Torkelson - R [Endorsed] (Campaign Finance Bd.)
Greg Bartz- R (Campaign Finance Bd.)- Robert Skillings - DFL (Campaign Finance Bd.)
Mostly rural. This is an agricultural district. Its largest city is New Ulm. It was settled in the 1850s by German immigrants who prospered as the first steamboats went upriver to lay out the site for Ft. Ridgely. New Ulm is home to the August Schell Brewing Company. Founded in 1860, Schell is the second oldest family-owned brewery in the United States, and the oldest industry in New Ulm. New Ulm dedicated a monument to "Hermann the Cherusci," who freed the German people from oppression in 9 A.D. and is considered the liberator of Germany. In 2000, the U.S. Congress dedicated the monument as a national symbol for all Americans of German descent. Politically, the district is strong Republican.
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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