Former DFL Rep. McGuire wins SD 66 special election

Mary Jo McGuire

Former DFL Rep. Mary Jo McGuire will return to the Capitol – this time in the upper chamber – after winning the special election for Senate District 66 Tuesday evening.

McGuire beat Republican Greg Copeland in the DFL stronghold with about 80 percent of the vote. She replaces former Sen. Ellen Anderson, DFL-St. Paul, who Gov. Mark Dayton appointed to lead the state’s Public Utilities Commission in February.

McGuire  served in the Minnesota House from 1988 to 2002, leaving the chamber after redistricting shook up the political maps and put her at odds with DFL Rep. Alice Hausman. Hausman endorsed McGuire for the seat this year over current House DFL Rep. John Lesch, who went down to McGuire in the primary.