New faces fill seats previously held by Kelliher, Prettner Solon, Moua

Following Thao's retirement, district voters will send a new representative to the Legislature in November, and by all accounts that will be the DFL-backed candidate, Rena Moran.

Chaudhary's primary loss made him the body's fifth departing chair

Mark Dayton rode a dominating performance in greater Minnesota to a narrow victory in Tuesday's DFL gubernatorial primary, edging party endorsee Margaret Anderson Kelliher by just over 6,500 votes out of over 440,000 cast. One-time House Minority Leader Matt Entenza, who spent over $5 million on his primary campaign, garnered just over 80,000 votes.

Rena Moran and Jeremiah Ellis are in a tough DFL primary battle to represent House District 65A. Whoever wins the contest will almost certainly become the first African American to represent St. Paul at the Legislatur

With primary voting less than 72 hours away, House Speaker Margaret Anderson Kelliher was out on the campaign trail Saturday attempting to motivate the DFL faithful. She attended a rally at the offices of TakeAction Minnesota with state legislative candidates Rena Moran and Vang Lor.

No matter who wins the DFL primary contest in House District 65A, history will almost certainly be made. The victor – either Jeremiah Ellis or Rena Moran — will stand poised to become the first African American ever to represent St. Paul in the Legislature.

The filing deadline has come and gone. Candidates for the Minnesota Legislature are hitting the stump. But Democrats in 13 House and Senate districts and Republicans in 10 others will have to win in August to compete in November. Here are 10 legislative primaries to watch.

"This is my replacement!" Rep. Cy Thao introduces Jeremiah Ellis to Rep. Mary Murphy.

If it’s possible to judge a legislator’s re-election vulnerability solely on the number of challengers that he or she attracts, then Lisa Fobbe, Jim Carlson and Kevin Dahle should probably watch their backs.