Two Special Elections Held in Minnesota Tuesday

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — Unofficial election results show voters in the Twin Cities suburbs have picked two Republicans to fill vacancies at the Minnesota Legislature.

Special elections were held Tuesday for a Bloomington-area House seat and a northwestern suburban Senate district vacated by incumbents who left the Legislature for other jobs last year.

Returns from the Minnesota Secretary of State's office show Republican Chad Anderson beat Democrat Andrew Carlson in a close race to claim the former seat of Democratic Rep. Ann Lenczewski. Lenczewski quit midway through her ninth term to take a job as a lobbyist.

Returns also show former Rep. Jim Abeler will be returning to the Legislature to replace Sen. Branden Petersen. The Republican easily beat Democrat Roger Johnson in the GOP-leaning district, according to the unofficial results.