66° and Clear
MINNEAPOLIMEDIA NEWS | Hennepin County Voting Returns Set November Races for Attorney, Sheriff, Commissioners and North Metro City Offices
Cedrick Frazier and Anders Folk advanced for county attorney, Dawanna Witt and Joseph Banks will meet again for sheriff, and voters narrowed closely watched races in Brooklyn Park, Brooklyn Center and New Hope.
HENNEPIN COUNTY, MN (August 13, 2026) Tuesday’s primary election established the November matchups for several of Hennepin County’s most consequential public offices, including an open county attorney position, two contested County Board seats and municipal races across the North Metro.
Not every race appeared on the August 11 ballot. The contest for Hennepin County sheriff moved directly to the November 3 general election because only two candidates filed. Incumbent Sheriff Dawanna Witt and challenger Joseph Banks will meet in a rematch of their 2022 contest.
Elsewhere, the primary produced clear first-place finishes in the races for Hennepin County attorney and two County Board seats. It also produced margins of seven votes in the Brooklyn Center mayoral primary and two votes in a New Hope City Council special election.
All August 11 vote totals remain unofficial until they are reviewed and certified through the canvassing process.
Frazier and Folk advance for Hennepin County attorney
State Rep. Cedrick Frazier and former federal prosecutor Anders Folk advanced from a five-candidate primary for Hennepin County attorney.
Frazier led the countywide contest with 87,447 votes, or 35.95%. Folk placed second with 55,610 votes, or 22.86%.
Longtime prosecutor Diane M. Krenz finished third with 46,150 votes, or 18.97%. Hao Nguyen received 36,424 votes, or 14.97%, while Matt Pelikan finished with 17,648 votes, or 7.25%.
All 395 Hennepin County precincts had reported results.
Frazier and Folk will compete in November to succeed Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty, who announced that she would not seek a second term.
Frazier, a labor attorney and former Hennepin County public defender, represents New Hope and surrounding communities in the Minnesota House. He also previously served on the New Hope City Council. Frazier received the Hennepin County DFL endorsement during the party’s June convention.
Folk is a former acting United States attorney for Minnesota who previously worked in the Hennepin County Attorney’s Office and the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
The county attorney is Hennepin County’s chief prosecutor and leads an office responsible for prosecuting felony crimes, certain juvenile cases and other matters falling under Minnesota law. The office also provides legal representation to the county government.
Witt and Banks head directly to November sheriff rematch
The Hennepin County sheriff’s race did not appear on Tuesday’s primary ballot because only two candidates filed for the position.
Incumbent Sheriff Dawanna Witt and challenger Joseph Banks automatically advanced to the November 3 general election. Under Minnesota’s nonpartisan election system, a primary is needed only when more than two candidates seek a single county office.
The two candidates previously competed for sheriff in 2022. Witt won that general election with 285,292 votes, or 63.99%. Banks received 157,689 votes, or 35.37%, while write-in candidates received 2,859 votes, or 0.64%.
Witt subsequently became the first Black person and first woman elected sheriff of Hennepin County.
The 2026 contest will therefore be a rematch, but there was no August 11 sheriff vote and no new primary result. Both candidates advanced automatically after the filing period closed.
The political environment surrounding the rematch differs from 2022. Witt did not secure the Hennepin County DFL endorsement at the party’s June convention. She received approximately 58% during the endorsement process, falling short of the 60% required, and later withdrew her name from further consideration.
The party ultimately issued no endorsement in the sheriff’s race.
The lack of an endorsement does not affect Witt’s legal status as a candidate. The sheriff’s office is a nonpartisan position, and party affiliations will not appear next to the candidates’ names on the general-election ballot.
The sheriff oversees the Hennepin County jail, courthouse security, civil-process services, water patrol and law-enforcement operations conducted in cooperation with municipal, state and federal agencies.
Fernando and El-Amin advance in County Board District 2
Incumbent Hennepin County Commissioner Irene Fernando and challenger Sharon El-Amin advanced from a four-candidate primary in County Board District 2.
Fernando received 16,500 votes, or 55.30%, giving her a clear first-place finish. El-Amin placed second with 6,280 votes, or 21.05%.
Viviana Salazar received 4,559 votes, or 15.28%, while Makeda Zulu received 2,498 votes, or 8.37%.
All 56 precincts in the district had reported.
District 2 includes parts of Minneapolis and several inner-ring and western suburban communities. Fernando, the incumbent and the DFL-endorsed candidate, will now face El-Amin in November.
Greene and Ibrahim advance in County Board District 3
Incumbent Commissioner Marion Greene and challenger Abdihakim Arabow Ibrahim advanced from a six-candidate primary in Hennepin County Board District 3.
Greene led the field with 24,711 votes, or 59.42%. Ibrahim secured the second general-election position with 4,398 votes, or 10.58%.
Anthony Walsh finished third with 4,121 votes, or 9.91%, placing 277 votes behind Ibrahim. Josh Bassais received 3,849 votes, or 9.26%, while Kevin Chavis received 3,731 votes, or 8.97%. Anthony Abousweid finished with 776 votes, or 1.87%.
All 57 district precincts had reported.
Greene, a three-term commissioner, received the DFL endorsement ahead of the primary. She and Ibrahim will compete for the District 3 seat in November.
Conley advances without a District 4 primary
Hennepin County Commissioner Angela Conley did not face a primary opponent in District 4.
Conley is currently the only candidate listed for the November contest. She represents a district centered in Minneapolis and is the first Black person elected to the Hennepin County Board.
Because her race did not have enough candidates to require a primary, no August 11 District 4 vote total was produced.
Winston and Page advance in Brooklyn Park mayoral race
Brooklyn Park voters narrowed a four-candidate mayoral field to incumbent Mayor Hollies Winston and City Council Member Shelle Page.
Winston led the primary with 5,639 votes, or 48.6%. Page finished second with 3,167 votes, or 27.3%.
Former City Council Member Boyd Morson received 1,660 votes, or 14.3%, while Council Member Maria Tran received 1,141 votes, or 9.8%.
Winston is seeking a second full term as mayor. Page was elected to the Brooklyn Park City Council in 2024.
The November contest comes as Brooklyn Park continues work on several major development and transportation initiatives, including the proposed BioTech Innovation District and the Metro Blue Line light-rail extension.
Eriksen and Miskowiec advance in Brooklyn Park East District
Brooklyn Park also held a primary for its East District City Council position.
Incumbent Council Member Christian Eriksen finished first with 2,068 votes, or 52.4%. Allen Miskowiec secured the second qualifying position with 696 votes, or 17.7%.
Philip Seton Gaye-Bai received 591 votes, or 15%, while Aaron Endris received 589 votes, or 14.9%.
Eriksen and Miskowiec will appear on the November ballot.
The Central and West district contests did not require primaries because only two candidates filed in each race. Incumbent Nichole Klonowski will face Ashyante Shantell Gill in the Central District. Tonja West-Hafner and Bernice David-Cooper will compete for the open West District position.
Seven votes separate second and third place in Brooklyn Center
Brooklyn Center City Council Member Teneshia Kragness finished first in the city’s four-candidate mayoral primary, while Alexander Koenig provisionally secured the second qualifying position by seven votes.
Kragness received 1,832 votes, or 52.86%. Koenig received 683 votes, or 19.71%.
Council Member Laurie Ann Moore finished immediately behind Koenig with 676 votes, or 19.50%. Latrecia J. Mayo received 275 votes, or 7.93%.
Based on the unofficial returns, Kragness and Koenig will advance to the general election. The seven-vote margin between Koenig and Moore makes the canvassing process particularly important.
The mayoral position is open because Mayor April Graves is not seeking reelection.
No recount should be presumed solely because of the narrow margin. Any recount request or eligibility determination would occur under Minnesota election law after the results are canvassed.
Four advance in Brooklyn Center council primary
Brooklyn Center voters also reduced a field of nine City Council candidates to four finalists competing for two at-large seats.
Gretchen Enger led with 1,060 votes, or 17.72%. Dan Jerzak received 1,030 votes, or 17.22%.
Nahid Khan advanced with 815 votes, or 13.62%, while Mark Viste secured the fourth qualifying position with 657 votes, or 10.98%.
Enger, Jerzak, Khan and Viste will compete in November. Voters will be able to select two candidates, with the two highest finishers winning seats on the council.
Two votes determine second place in New Hope special primary
Rachelle Hamilton led the three-candidate primary for a New Hope City Council special election, while sitting Council Member Brock Ray provisionally secured the second November position by two votes.
Hamilton received 1,346 votes, or 44.60%. Ray received 837 votes, or 27.73%.
Mark Wagner finished third with 835 votes, or 27.67%.
If the canvassed results preserve the current order, Hamilton and Ray will advance. The two-vote difference between Ray and Wagner is the narrowest reported Hennepin County municipal margin included in this election package.
Four additional candidates, Danielle Plantz, Jeffrey S. Miller, Duane Maupin and incumbent Council Member Kyle Coryell, are running for two regular City Council seats in November.
Beard and McCrory advance for Three Rivers Park District
Voters also narrowed a four-candidate contest for the Three Rivers Park District Board’s District 1 seat.
Marge Beard finished first with 13,328 votes, or 52.94%. Declan McCrory secured the second qualifying position with 4,739 votes, or 18.82%.
Joey Rodriguez received 4,021 votes, or 15.97%, while Melvin A. Knapton received 3,086 votes, or 12.26%.
Beard and McCrory will advance to the November election.
The Three Rivers Park District is a separate regional government responsible for parks, trails, recreation facilities and natural-resource management across suburban Hennepin County.
What happens next
County and municipal election officials will review precinct information, reconcile vote totals and canvass the returns before the results become official.
That process will receive particular attention in Brooklyn Center, where seven votes separate the second- and third-place mayoral candidates, and New Hope, where two votes separate the candidates competing for the final general-election position.
The canvass may confirm the preliminary totals or produce minor adjustments. A close result does not automatically establish that a recount will occur. Recount eligibility and requests are governed by Minnesota law after canvassing.
Candidates officially confirmed through that process will appear on the Tuesday, November 3 general-election ballot.
Voters can review official election information through Hennepin County Elections and the Minnesota Secretary of State’s election-results system.
Editor’s note: All August 11 vote totals and percentages in this report are unofficial and subject to correction through the canvassing and certification process. The Hennepin County sheriff figures listed for 2022 are certified historical general-election results.
STAY CONNECTED TO MINNEAPOLIMEDIA
Local stories matter. Subscribe free to MinneapoliMedia and receive independent news, community reporting and important updates from Minneapolis, the North Metro and communities across Minnesota.
SUBSCRIBE FREE: https://minneapolimedia.town.news/subscribe
MinneapoliMedia | Community. Culture. Civic Life
