Welcome to Patch's Hennepin County hub for all things Election 2012.

This page will offer some historical perspective of recent voting in Hennepin County, along with up-to-the-moment election results for county races. It will also have links to Patch's coverage of local, state and federal races. 

• Presidential, senate, congressional and constitutional amendment results
• Local coverage: Eden Prairie | Edina | Golden Valley | Hopkins | Lake Minnetonka | Maple Grove | Minnetonka | Plymouth | Richfield | Southwest Minneapolis | St. Louis Park |
  
• Scroll down to see Hennepin County election results.

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With five of the seven county commissioners up for re-election this fall, the Hennepin County Board could’ve seen a major shake-up from this election.

But Hennepin County voters seem to prefer for county government to continue on its current course—choosing steady-as-she-goes incumbents over the fiscally conservative challengers who criticized the County Board for runaway spending.

• Scroll down to see election results.

Incumbents Mike Opat, Randy Johnson, Jan Callison and Jeff Johnson all won their respective races—in Randy Johnson’s case by a 64 percent to 35 percent margin.

District 2 was the only one that did not choose an incumbent—and that was only because it was a special election that did not have an incumbent in that race. In that case, Higgins defeated Yang 60 percent to 40 percent.

In the 6^th District, Wahlstedt had consistently promoted spending cuts and lower taxes while his supporters criticized Callison for the county’s spending. But in the end, voters favored Callison’s emphasis on smart investments and a balanced approach.

The 5^th District had a less clear-cut message. Randy Johnson—who was elected in 1978 and re-elected nine successive times, running without opposition in four elections—had the endorsement of many Republicans and major labor unions. But Koepke, who has never held an elected office, considered himself a fiscal conservative and, like Wahlstedt, is running on the position that the county has strayed from the core values of limited, local government.

In addition to the County Board seats, voters also chose park commissioners and soil and water supervisors. Scrolls down to see the full results.

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RESULTS 

*Candidates with asterisks before their names are incumbents.

Hennepin County Commissioners

Hennepin County Park Commissioners

Hennepin County Soil and Water Supervisors

To find results for the Presidential election, senate race, congressional election and constitutional amendment questions, you can find all the up-to-the-minute results here on Patch by clicking here.

If you're looking for results of local races in Hennepin County communities—such as school board, city council and mayoral elections—you can visit the relevant Patch site:

• Eden Prairie | Edina | Golden Valley | Hopkins | Lake Minnetonka | Maple Grove | Minnetonka | Plymouth | Richfield | Southwest Minneapolis | St. Louis Park |

To see legislative races, visit the Patch site for the appropriate legislative district:

• District 33
• District 44
• District 46
• District 48
• District 50
• District 61
• District 62
• District 63

To see the judicial results, click on the links below:

• Minnesota Supreme Court
• Fourth District Court