Delano Herald Journal

Serving the communities of Delano, Loretto, Montrose, MN, and the surrounding area

Winsted senate candidate missing on campaign trail



Sheila Sudbeck of Winsted is missing in action as a Democratic
candidate for District 18 state senator ­ which is the fairly high profile
race against incumbent Steve Dille.

Sudbeck moved back to South Dakota for a job a few months
ago, said Nancy Larson, the DFL chair.

Sudbeck is no longer a resident of District 18, and is
therefore no longer an eligible candidate, said Kent Kieser of the Secretary
of State’s office.

Neither of the contenders for the District 18 seat, incumbent
Dille or Constitution Party candidate Paul Murray, have seen Sudbeck campaigning
at public events.

Sudbeck did not attend the DFL endorsement party either,
said DFL associate chair Mike Worcester. She was not officially endorsed
by the DFL party.

Nevertheless, this will not prevent Sudbeck’s name from
appearing on the November ballot on behalf of the DFL, according to the
secretary of state.

It is too late to remove a name from the ballot, Kieser
said.

In fact, if Sudbeck inadvertently wins the election, a
special election would be needed to determine who the winner is ­ if
she still has a legal Winsted residence, he said.

“It doesn’t go to the runner-up, the candidate with
the next highest votes,” Kieser said.

The special election, which would also require a special
legislative session, if needed, would be in January, Kieser said.

“Initially, she expressed interest in the (Tony) Kielkucki
race,” Worcester said.

However, when Lowell Ueland of Glencoe came forward to
challenge Kielkucki, Sudbeck decided to fill the empty DFL seat for the
race against Dille, Worcester said.

Sudbeck signed the Minnesota affidavit of candidacy July
10, and gave a Winsted address as her legal address. She did not include
campaign contact information.

She lived in Winsted for a few years, but is originally
from South Dakota, Larson said.

Sudbeck did not return several phone calls, post office
correspondence, and e-mails from the Journal.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.