A word about State Senate District 67
This was an interesting election in that district. Formerly held by John Harrington, the State Senator elected in District 67 is Foung Hawj (pronounced Fong Her). Harrington did not run after the DFL district convention failed to endorse him, due to some issues with his support for Labor and a few other errors toward the right. Foung Hawj came in third in caucus polling at the convention.
I met with him two or three times prior to the convention, and caucused for him at the convention. He is a good person, cares about the district a great deal, and will make a strong, progressive Senator for our district. He won the primary and won the general election by a large margin. In my St. Paul precinct W6 P13, he received almost 80% of the vote. His appearance on the ballot played a large role in the record turnout of Hmong-heritage voters in this and many other St. Paul Precincts.
It is notable that our District 67 convention came together to reject an an endorsement for John Harrington and that a relatively unknown candidate ended up winning the election. Not endorsing an incumbent is a rare event at Senate District conventions. We can expect Foung Hawj to serve the district with progressive DFL standards in mind at all times. If you have a chance, please say hello to him and congratulate him on his election.
