Monty Jensen, who finished last in the four-person Aug. 14 primary, announced he’ll launch a write-in candidacy for the District 1 seat on the Crow Wing County Board.
Jensen, 30, said turnout was low in the primary and he didn’t think the results reflected the true desires of the voters. He said as he took down his primary campaign signs many of his supporters (including those who displayed signs) said they didn’t vote in the primary. He said the number of supporters who told him they didn’t vote was at least equal to the margin between and him and the second-place candidate who survived the primary.
Winning the primary were incumbent Crow Wing County Commissioner Phil Trusty, 433 votes; and former state Sen. Paul Koering, 346 votes. They were followed in vote totals by Doug Kern, 245 votes, and Jensen, 243 votes.
Jensen is the second person to announce a write-in candidacy in District 1. Marv Begin, 81, announced his write-in effort in June.
In a news release Jensen said Kern, the Crow Wing County Republican Party chair, has agreed to support him and is urging his supporters to do the same. Jensen said voters do not want the status quo.
“Our country has been going down the tubes for a long time and the last thing we need is two seasoned politicians,” Jensen said.
MIKE O’ROURKE, associate editor, may be reached at 855-5860 or mike.orourke@brainerddispatch.com. He may be followed at www.twitter.com/MikeORourkenews.
Comments (2)
Add commentJensen is a government auditor and proven military leader
The more I find out about Monty Jensen the more I am impressed with his experience. I think he is exactly what Crow Wing County needs, new and fresh leadership. Go Monty Go!
Primary Results
It is actually extremely rare that the number one and two finishers reverse order between the primary and general elections, indicating that primaries are actually quite representative of the views of the public at large as well as those of the party faithful. Moreover, acquiring the name recognition necessary to get a majority of voters to remember your name for a local government office while they are in the voting booth is extremely rare. Mr. Jensen would have been better advised to bide his time until another election. At this rate, he risks being branded a two-time loser in the same election. Now, that's pretty rare, too.