DFL Sen. Gary Kubly of Granite Falls held a commanding lead over Republican challenger Roger Dale of Hanley Falls in the Minnesota Senate District 20 race in Tuesday's general election.
With 193 of 196 precincts reporting at 12:30 a.m., Kubly led Dale 67.21 percent to 32.73 percent.
The district covers Big Stone, Lac qui Parle, Lincoln, Swift, Yellow Medicine, Chippewa, Renville counties.
Kubly, 62, is a Lutheran pastor. He served three terms in the Minnesota House of Representatives and is finishing his first term in the Senate. In Kubly's first race for the Senate in 2002, he defeated Republican Rick Harper 63.3 percent to 36.6 percent.
Kubly said the results looked positive but said it could change before the final results are tabulated. Kubly said he seemed to get positive feedback from most places during the campaign.
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"It does seem to me I got some votes from the moderate portion of the Republican Party, which always helps,'' said Kubly, who was attending a gathering at J.B. Yates in Granite Falls. "I think it's gone pretty well, although campaigns are a lot of work. I can't say that I'm not glad it's over.''
Dale, 70, is a farmer, a seed dealer and has served on the boards of numerous farm-related organizations.
Dale said he would not concede until the last precinct is counted. He said he was pleased with his showing.
"I didn't sling any mud during the campaign. All I did was bring out his voting record, and if the people want to look at that, they can. And if they don't, apparently a lot of them didn't,'' he said.
Dale gathered with friends and campaign workers at his house Tuesday night to watch the results.
"I knew it was an uphill battle,'' said Dale. "As an incumbent, he has quite an advantage. I know this summer he's been doing a lot of fill-in preaching at almost all the Lutheran churches. That's a lot of exposure for him, too.''
But Dale said he feels he's a winner because of all the people he worked with and met, and because of the comments he received from people about taking a stand on moral issues. "That makes me feel good, too,'' he said. "You can win by losing.''
Kubly, in a campaign interview, said education, health care, transportation and renewable energy were prominent issues on the minds of constituents.
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He said the number of schools asking for levies to fund operations is probably an indication that the state hasn't fulfilled its constitutional mandate of offering every child an equal, quality education.
Kubly said there is considerable interest in renewable energy, particularly in the western part of the district, although there's also interest in other forms of renewable energy.
In a campaign interview, Dale said he wanted to be a "grassroots person'' if he's elected. He took no political action committee or special interest money.
Dale favored continued adequate law enforcement funding to fight methamphetamine. He said the district needs good roads to transport goods in and out of the district, and said he'd vote for a gas tax increase, but not 10 cents per gallon.
Dale supports renewable energy, including the use of wind energy and expanded use of biodiesel, ethanol and E85.
