2020 looks to be going the way of 2018, at least in terms of the Minnesota House race for District 10A between state Rep. Josh Heintzeman, R-Brainerd, and DFL challenger Dale Menk, with 15,444 votes (64.76%) in Heintzeman’s favor over Menk’s 8,382 votes (35.15%).
In their rematch, the 2020 race between Heintzeman and Menk had a tendancy to drift into hot button issues — everything from abortion rights to the Second Amendment, from police brutality to religious freedoms. This stood somewhat in contrast to the candidates themselves and how they conducted their own campaigns for office.
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Staying on brand as an economic libertarian with a strong emphasis on conservative family values, Heintzeman often said the single largest issue facing the state was the fallout from COVID-19 and hard decisions lawmakers would have to make to address a looming multi-billion dollar deficit.
In contrast, Menk leaned economically left in his second bid for the seat, often framing his campaign around “dinner table” issues like health care, wages, jobs and housing in terms of combating a failing system that favors wealthy special interests, as well as supporting a robust government response to address the numerous crises of the year.
District 10A is increasingly looking to be a Republican stronghold after Heintzeman’s win over four-term DFL incumbent John Ward in 2014 — a convincing, if more narrow 53.4% to 46.5% victory. Since then, Heintzeman has only garnered a larger and larger portion of the electorate, with a 59.4% to 40.6% win over DFLer Quinn Nystrom in 2016 and a 62.2% to 37.7% victory over Menk during their first contest in 2018.
