Thanks to Cherokee Service for their support.
The 2020 primary is on Tuesday, August 11. Here’s your voter’s guide. (See our West St. Paul Voter’s Guide for the November 2020 election.)
How to Vote
The West St. Paul city website has details on where and how to vote. You can also vote early with an absentee ballot, either by mail or by stopping at the Dakota County offices.
If you do vote in person, remember to wear a mask and maintain social distancing.
What’s on the Ballot
The primary ballot is pretty simple for West St. Paul with only two races—the West St. Paul mayor and U.S. Senate.
U.S. Senate
While there are only two races to vote in, the U.S. Senate primary can be a little confusing. It’s a partisan primary, which means each political party is narrowing their candidates for the November election. All political parties appear on the same ballot, but you’re only allowed to vote for one party.
The front of the ballot has the uncontested races for the Legalize Marijuana Now Party and the Grassroots Legalize Cannabis Party. The back of the ballot has the contested races for the Republican Party and Democrat-Farmer-Labor Party. The Republican and DFL races both have five candidates each.
Remember to pick just one political party for the Senate race.
West St. Paul Mayor
Then the mayor’s race is next to the Republican and DFL Senate choices on the back. There are four candidates on the ballot:
- Jonathan Diamond (no campaign site)
- Kimetha (KaeJae) Johnson (campaign site)
- Dave Napier (campaign site)
- Jeramie Torkelson (no campaign site)
While still on the ballot, Torkelson dropped out in June and has officially endorsed Johnson.
Mayoral Q&As:
We asked the three remaining mayoral candidates a series of questions. You can find those posts and their responses here:
- What is West St. Paul’s biggest challenge and what will you do about it?
- What do you hope to accomplish in your two years as mayor?
- How will you handle packed and highly charged City Council meetings?
- How will you support trails and sidewalks?
- How will you handle a tight budget made tighter by the pandemic?
- What policing changes need to happen in West St. Paul?
More Election Coverage
Our election coverage also included a story about firsts in West St. Paul, featuring an interview with Johnson. We also covered how COVID-19 is changing campaigning for all candidates across West St. Paul. You can also check our archives for posts tagged Jonathan Diamond, Kimetha Johnson, and Dave Napier.
For more details, you can also check out the August 2020 issue of the St. Paul Voice for their ‘Meet the candidates’ profiles (turn to page 10).
No matter who you’re supporting, be sure to get out there and vote.
Local election coverage only happens with your support.
