Raymond Dehn has already faced most of the hurdles he will encounter on his way to the state Capitol. The first came when Dehn joined a crowded field of candidates vying for the open North Minneapolis House District 59B seat vacated by Rep. Bobby Joe Champion

A recount will be conducted on Thursday to confirm the outcome of the closely contested DFL primary in House District 59B. Raymond Dehn defeated Terra Cole by just 19 votes in the North Minneapolis race, with Ian Alexander trailing well behind.

Secretary of State Mark Ritchie predicted a low voter turnout for Tuesday's primary election, putting his estimate at around 15 percent participation from eligible voters. As it turns out, the state didn't even reach that number.

The fields in all 201 Minnesota legislative contests this fall are now set after more than 40 primary races across the state were settled on Tuesday. In some instances, DFLers and Republicans won contests in partisan strongholds and have almost assuredly secured their place in the Legislature next session.

Secretary of State spokeswoman Pat Turgeon confirmed Wednesday that no races are heading to a recount as of yet. One race got close: North Minneapolis' House District 59B DFL primary featured a slight, 19-point spread between winning candidate Raymond Dehn and second place finisher Terra Cole, but it still fell outside the .5 percent margin of total votes cast to trigger a recount.

The retirement of DFL Sen. Linda Higgins from her District 58 Minneapolis seat set off a game of musical chairs in one of the most staunchly DFL areas in Minnesota.

n the four months since legislative maps were released, political strategists and journalists have been scrutinizing the new House and Senate districts to determine which ones favor Republicans or Democrats and where the key battlegrounds will be in 2012.

A handful of August primary elections are heating up across the state thanks to the new redistricting map, an uptick in legislative retirements and widespread dissatisfaction with the job lawmakers are doing in St. Paul.

It was one of those votes no one wanted to take. The state’s new maps dropped DFL senators and allies John Marty and Mary Jo McGuire into Senate District 66, forcing activists in the area to pick between them at a recent endorsing convention.

Minneapolis DFLers lost another legislator last weekend. Freshman Rep. Marion Greene, who replaced former DFL House Speaker and gubernatorial candidate Margaret Anderson Kelliher in the chamber, fell in an endorsement contest against DFL House colleague Frank Hornstein.