Peterson and McCall in Draw for GOP Endorsement

The bid for the Republican endorsement for House District 56B still hangs in the balance after Saturday, when Roz Peterson and Terry McCall both drew a stalemate at the local convention.

It would be an understatement to call it a close race, said Ayrlahn Johnson, chair of the Republican party for SD56.

"We had four ballots and we flip-flopped at least twice, three times actually," Johnson said. "It was pretty much deadlocked."

The party was no closer to the necessary 60 percent consensus after delegates cast their votes for the fourth and final time. In fact, the race was closer than ever: McCall and Peterson split the vote 54 to 53, separated by a single slip of paper. Johnson said the last time Burnsville delegates left an endorsing convention without a chosen candidate was in 1998.

This is just the latest wrinkle to emerge after the departure of Mary Liz Holberg, the incumbent assigned to the House District 56B, who  to pursue a vacant seat in the new Senate District 58 shortly after the redistricting plan unveiled in .

The GOP of SD56 is a new entity. It contains much of old SD40, though it lost Bloomington and gained all of Savage and a share of northern Lakeville, Peterson's home turf. Johnson said the newcomers from Burnsville's southern neighbor are very politically active. The party's new dynamic is still in flux, as evidenced by the stalemate between — a Lakeville school board member and newcomer to partisan politics — and , a well-known conservative activist from Burnsville.

Johnson said the two are each formidable candidates in their own right.

"The issue is we have two quality candidates and the delegates haven't decided which will represent us the best and beat (Democrat) ," Johnson said.

SD56 is now obliged to hold a second endorsing convention to resolve the tie. Johnson said they will schedule it soon, within 30 days or shortly thereafter. McCall was not available for comment as of press, but Peterson said she was eager for the next round.

"It was very exciting and I'm looking forward to doing it all over again," Peterson said on Monday. "I guess I was the clear underdog in the beginning, but the key is connect with the delegates and see what they care about and if I can align my interests with theirs." 

Peterson said she would spend the next month campaigning for delegates in Burnsville.

Other races were less contested. Sitting Rep. Pam Myhra (56A) and Sen. Dan Hall ran unopposed.

However, there was a bit of competition for delegate seats and executive committee positions. Johnson said 66 people put in for 19 delegate spots and 19 alternate roles. Most of the interest stemmed from 56B, where 48 people sought to become delegates. Johnson attributed the unusual amount of interest to the absorption of the northern quarter of Lakeville and the local party's own efforts to stir up activism. 

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