DASSEL -- Incumbent Republican Sen. Steve Dille of Dassel was re-elected Tuesday to the Minnesota Senate, defeating DFL challenger Hal Kimball.
At midnight, the Minnesota Secretary of State's Web site reported that Dille was leading with 65 of 68 precincts. Dille had 18,318 votes to Kimball's 11,274 votes, a margin of 61.86 percent to 38.07 percent.
Dille, 61, has been a member of the Senate for 14 years. He spent six years in the Minnesota House before that. He is a self-employed farmer and veterinarian, operating a 640-acre crop and livestock farm in the Dassel area.
Kimball, 35, of Annandale was making his first run for public office. He is a college student and works as a custodian for Turtle Bay Building Services. He is an 11-year veteran of the U.S. Army.
In October, the candidates both offered ideas for improving Minnesotans' access to health care and for funding education.
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Dille said his goal is to provide affordable health care for all Minnesotans, though he doesn't necessarily mean a single-payer system. He is a member of a Minnesota Medical Association task force that plans to deliver a proposal to the Legislature in January.
Providing affordable health care for all would be a difficult, lengthy process, Kimball said. He proposed beginning by introducing competition into health insurance fields, in an effort to drive down prices.
On education funding, Dille said he would advocate providing state aid to smaller school districts based on the number of sections per grade, rather than the number of students. He also believes character education should be promoted and funded by the state. He'd raise state aid to limit increases in college tuition.
Kimball said he believed students in all areas of the state should receive the same proportion of state aid. He said he wanted to see more controls on increases in college tuition, as well.
District 18 includes all of Meeker and McLeod counties and a far western portion of Wright County.
